Against The Currents
by chlorineobsession
Summary: Shikamaru does NOT want to take part in this exchange, but he also doesn't want to repeat his school year. The same logic applies to Temari's reasoning when she accepts this stupid exchange. How will the two get along? Typical High school AU [ShikaTema] Drama, clichés and comedy. **Shamelessly fluffy**
1. Chapter 1 First impressions

_**A/N: ayyy, in honour of Temari's birthday on August 23rd I'm starting a cliché High school AU, cos what kind of a fan fiction writer would I be if I didn't have at LEAST one of them.**_

 _ **I'm still continuing Trial and Error at the same time as this, I can multitask.**_

 _ **Please enjoy, fave, follow and review, (or not) :)**_

 _ **naruto isn't mine:(**_

 **First** **impressions**

This was troublesome. No, it was _beyond_ troublesome. It was the worst.

Kakashi-Sensei gave him a stern look as Shikamaru let out a loud sigh, which he quickly masked by yawning. Glancing out the window, he saw a perfect sky with puffy white clouds. What a waste of a lovely day.

He looked around the classroom at the five other students who were being lectured on their failing grades.

"Ino," Kakashi-Sensei began.

"Your participation and cooperation has been exemplary, but your exam grades are bringing down your average, which is why you need extra credits. Same goes for you two," he added, looking at Kiba and Naruto who were kicking each other under the table for fun.

"Sai, you however haven't handed up a single piece of work that hasn't been doodled on, and your behaviour can only be marked as anti-social."

Sai looked blankly at Kakashi-sensei, a small smile plastered to his face in the same creepy expression he always wore.

"Tenten, your grades and participation are always average or above, but you have missed a lot of school lately due to your injury and your absence has brought down your grade."

Kakashi rounded on Shikamaru .

"You just haven't bothered all year and you need extra credits if you want to move up to the next grade"

Shikamaru shrugged and said nothing.

" We are proposing an exchange program in which you will regularly correspond with students who are in a... Similar predicament in another school."

Shikamaru groaned. No way in hell was he going to have a 'penpal'.

"You will correspond through letters and then go on a 'visit' during the school year. If you refuse, you will have to repeat the year. Do I make myself clear?"

A few grumbles resonated around the room.

"Good. Now fill out these forms."

OoOoO

" _BULLSHIT_!"

"Temari, please return to your seat," Baki-Sensei sighed.

"I AM _NOT_ WRITING LITTLE NOTES TO SOME FOREIGN KIDS AND THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I'M LETTING _ANYONE_ INTO MY HOME!"

"So you wish to repeat the school year?"

Temari paused, realising that she certainly did NOT want to do that.

"You've lost a lot of credits due to your antisocial behaviour, and you've gotten into too many fights this year. You'd do well to accept this opportunity that you've been given"

Temari grumbled and sank back down into her seat.

"Whatever."

Baki nodded and turned back to the other five students in front of him.

"We received the questionnaires from the students at Konoha-High and you will be given the same one. I have been put in charge of pairing you accordingly."

He glanced down at the page in front of him and continued, frowning.

"We originally intended to partner you up according to gender, but there isn't the same amount of girls and boys, meaning that one of you girls is going to be paired up with a boy,"

Temari rolled her eyes as she heard Matsuri and Yukata giggle loudly to her left.

This was so tedious. She looked down at the questionnaire in front of her, filled with meaningless and generic questions.

"Name, age, favourite colour/pastime etc."

She scribbled down her answers and folded the page into a paper fan while she waited for the others to finish up.

"Temari?"

"Hn?" She turned to Daimaru who was seated close to her, his goofy grin wide as always.

"I hope we make some friends during this program,"

Temari snorted.

"I'd sooner die,"

Daimaru laughed and put his arm around her waist.

" Don't die on me," he mumbled into her ear.

She held back a second snort.

Why am I dating this idiot again?

OoOoO

Sighing, Baki looked at the pages in front of him. He didn't want to cause any problems for any of the students, but he pitied whoever would be paired up with Temari.

He decided that she should be the girl who was paired up with the extra boy since she lived with her two brothers. They could look after the poor soul.

He flicked through all the questionnaires.

He paired the girl named Tenten up with Matsuri, they both seemed interested in sports and competition. The other girl, Ino, was put with Yukata, their curly neat writing almost identical.

The next file he read was one written by a boy named Kiba. Seeing the similar cockiness between his and Kankuro's, he decided to pair them off.

That left Gaara, Daimaru and Temari from his group. He flicked through the last three questionnaires from the Konoha students. Seeing an ambitious streak in Naruto's "hopes for the future" section, he put him with Gaara, who had a near-identical answer.

He read through the last two, and decided to put the lazy-sounding boy with Daimaru, the two would get on well, and the one named Sai with Temari. He nearly put the files away when he noticed a little flower drawn on Sai's _Hell_ no. Temari would kill the poor boy for drawing flowers. He quickly swapped Sai's page with the other one, glancing briefly at the name.

Nara Shikamaru.

Good luck to you, boy he thought, before packing away the stack of pages and going home.

The boy was going to need it.

OoOoO

Shikamaru looked down at the sheet of paper that was placed in front of him, then back up at Kakashi with a single raised eyebrow, waiting for the teacher to elaborate.

"Your pen pal." The man said, before moving on to Ino and handing her her own page.

Shikamaru sighed and looked at the page. He'd only handed up his own sheet a few days ago, and now he was expected to find out about his pen pal. What a drag.

He ran his eyes across the page and came to a halt at the first line.

Name: SABAKU NO TEMARI

"Sir, there's been a problem," he said, lazily raising his arm "I've been paired with a _girl_."

"Ah yes, the number of girls in the Suna group was higher than the number of girls in our group, so we had to pair one of them up with a boy," Kakashi explained as he handed the final sheet to Naruto, who punched his fist in the air the moment he saw his pen pal's name

" _ALRIGHT_!" He exclaimed, " I know this guy!" And he proceeded to rant about summer camp where he met the boy he was to write to.

Shikamaru continued reading his own sheet, muttering under his breath.

"Mendokuse..."

Age: 18

Birthday: August 23rd

Favourite colour: Purple

Hobbies: Reading, Skipping school, NOT HAVING A PEN PAL, eating, Baki-sensei I know you're reading this I hate you, cooking, archery.

 _I_ _love_ _when_...: I don't have a pen pal

 _I_ _hate_ _when_...: I have to have a pen pal.

Ambition: NOT having a pen pal. Not having people doubt me. Get through school without a pen pal.

Shikamaru snorted at the girl's lack of enthusiasm for this program. He shared her sentiments. The entire thing was extremely troublesome. That's where the similarities ended though. She seemed too troublesome to be likeable. Her ambition included not being doubted. He'd gladly live his life being doubted by people rather than relied on by them. Being relied on meant responsibility, and responsibilities were troublesome. He sighed and glanced over the crumpled page once more, wondering what she would think reading his.

OoOoO

"Tell me you're kidding"

"Temari, stop causing problems."

"WHY AM _I_ THE ONE WHO'S PAIRED WITH A BOY?!"

"Because reasons,"

She glared at her sensei and looked down at the page she'd been given, deciphering the lazy scrawl that decorated it.

She looked around at her two brothers, both of whom seemed delighted with their allocated pen pal. _Great_.

Gaara was excitedly reading his and she thought she heard him say 'Naruto' which instantly made her feel better. Ever since his return from summer camp, he'd been talking about this Naruto kid non-stop. His friendship with the Konohan really helped him with his anxiety and depression and she was glad he'd meet him again. It also meant that she'd get to meet the guy.

Daimaru also seemed pleased with his partner, saying that his hobbies were pleasant.

Yukata and Matsuri were excitedly planning shopping trips with their own partners.

Temari on the other hand was the only one who seemed dissatisfied with the arrangements.

Name: NARA SHIKAMARU

Age: 15

Birthday: September 22nd

Favourite colour: Green

Hobbies: Sleeping, cloud gazing, relaxing

 _I_ _love_ _when_...: I can relax

I hate _when_...: My naps are interrupted

Ambition: Average life. Nothing troublesome. Not amazing, not too boring. Average.

She wanted to rip up the page (or the kid, either option would be satisfying).

Why had she been paired with a lazy little punk?!

Infuriated, she turned to Kankuro and demanded they swap.

"No can do sis," he chuckled. "This Kiba kid is mine," and he turned back to finish reading 'Kiba's' questionnaire.

She was disgusted. She was stuck with someone whom she had nothing in common with at all. In fact, they seemed like complete opposites. Great.

It was going to be a looooooong year


	2. Chapter 2 Girls are Troublesome

**A/N: BACK AGAINN. yeah, I'll try update at at least twice a week. I think. So here's chapter 2! *woohoo* thanks for the reviews/faves etc. They're super encouraging!**

 **So on with chapter two now! Enjoyyyyy**

 **Naruto belong to Kishimoto Sama, not me.**

 **Girls are troublesome.**

"SHIKAAAMARUUUU!"

"Morning, Ino."

"Aw, why so grumpy, Shika?" the platinum blonde asked, pouting slightly

"It's just this stupid exchange thing. It's so _troublesome_."

"Don't worry about it, I'll be there with you!"

"Yeah, but I'm paired up the a _girl_." the boy complained. "Girls are so troublesome."

Ino frowned.

"I don't think her gender is the problem, I think _you_ are," she snapped, her piercing blue eyes narrowed. "Either way, Tenten, Matsuri Yukata and I can spend time with her during the exchange anyways, that way the poor girl isn't stuck with you the whole time."

"Sure, whatever."

"Hey guys,"

"CHOOOOOOOOUJIIIIIIIIII!"

"Hey man,"

"Hey, why were you guys called out of class by the way?"

"Stupid exchange thing," Shikamaru grumbled. "It's a drag."

"An exchange?" Chōji asked, popping a crisp into his mouth, "Where to?"

"Suna academy," Ino answered, "I can't wait! There are probably soooo many cute guys there."

"What's up, Shikamaru ?" the plumper boy asked, crumpling up his crisp packet and taking out a second one from his bag.

"Shika's just annoyed cos he's paired up with a girl. It's all too ' _troublesome_ ' for him" Ino teased.

"Whatever."

"Guess that means I'll be alone then," Chōji sighed, wishing he hadn't studied so hard for his summer exams.

"Don't worry, Chō," Ino reassured. "We'll only be away for three months, and then our pen pals will visit _us_ for three months. Besides, It's only us, Naruto, Kiba, Tenten and Sai who are going. You won't be alone!"

Shikamaru froze.

He'd completely forgotten that he was going to have to stay at the girl's house for a few months. This was so troublesome. That also meant that he'd have to bring her back to his home and his demon-mother would _never_ let him hear the end of it. He hoped to god the girl wasn't pretty, otherwise said demon-mother would bring up the topic of grandchildren on the first night.

Ino turned back to the lazy boy and saw the horrified look in his eyes,

"Shika?" she called, having to raise her voice slightly since he was quite far away by then, "You okay?"

Shikamaru shook his head and kept walking.

"Mendokuse…."

OoOoO

"Oh _hell_ no."

"By 'no', I'm assuming you meant to say 'yes sir'?"

"No. No way am I writing to that kid." Temari snapped.

"Temari, you will do as you're told. Now write."

Temari rolled her eyes and tore a piece of paper from her refill pad, scribbling a few short sentences onto it before folding it in half and tossing it onto Baki-sensei's desk.

"See? Now was that so hard?" the teacher asked in a patronising tone.

Temari glared at him and stalked back to her seat.

She glanced around the room at the five other students who were excitedly writing to their pen pals. Daimaru, who was right next to her, was on the second page of his letter. Matsuri and Yukata were excitedly discussing which colour gel-pen to use in their letter whilst Kankurō chuckled as he wrote something (which probably wasn't PG 13) in his own letter. Gaara said nothing, but he seemed happy, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he wrote a long letter to the Naruto-kid.

Temari sighed, maybe she should have put a bit more effort into her own. After all, it wasn't the Nara's fault that she was stuck doing the exchange with him. The feeling of guilt almost instantly dissipated however when she remembered how little effort he'd put into his questionnaire. The Lazy ass probably wouldn't put any effort into his own letters anyway.

OoOoO

"Right, so the first lot of letters are in.' Kakashi sensei said to the six students who he had take out of calculus class to 'have a word' with.

"I expect you to write a reply for them by the end of this period. Got it?"

He handed out the letters and Shikamaru nearly laughed out loud when his was placed on the desk in front of him.

It was a single piece of scrap paper folded in half. The writing wasn't even on the line.

'Nara,

I want you to know that I have no desire to take part in this correspondence module and the only reason I am writing you right now is because there is no way in hell I'm repeating this school year. That said, I do hope they cancel the exchange.

Sabaku no Temari.

P. S. Don't expect me to get chummy with you kid.'

This time he did laugh out loud. He'd been paired with the most troublesome of women. Bar maybe his mother or Ino. At least she wasn't going to refuse to write. She wanted to leave school as much as he did by the looks of things.

Still chuckling, he picked up a pen and began writing his reply.

"Sabaku no Temari,

I am glad to know we are thinking along the same lines. I also have no intention of repeating this school year. That would be unnecessarily troublesome. I also hope that the exchange itself does not take place. Exchanges are such a drag.

Yours,

Nara Shikamaru .

P. S. I do not expect you to get _chummy_ with me. Chumminess is entirely too troublesome.'

He sighed and brought the letter up to Kakashi-sensei's desk. He'd written more than he thought he would, but it didn't bother him much. He sat back down in his seat and put his head in his arms, napping for the last twenty minutes before the bell rang.

OoOoO

"Temari-saaaaaan?"

"Hn?"

"We were wondering if you'd like to come shopping with us this Friday?" Yukata giggled, twining a long strand of her smooth dark hair around her slim fingers. "We'd _love_ for your opinion!"

"O-oh, um. Sorry, but I'll probably have a load of assignments overdue by then so-"

"Don't be silly!" Matsuri butted in, " You'll have the entire weekend to catch-up! We'll treat you to something for taking time out of your day!"

"Oh, er, okay? I guess?" Temari accepted, not wanting to have to put up with two squealing, nagging girly girls for the rest of the week. She was used to people begging her to spend time with them, but they'd usually leave after she said no the first time.

"You do know they're not coming for another few weeks, right?"

"We know!" Yukata exclaimed, "But we want to be _organised_."

"Exactly," Matsuri added. "We'll meet you after school at the entrance he on Friday, okay?"

"Um… sure,"

The girls walked (or rather, skipped) away, clutching each other and giggling hysterically like a pair of demented hyenas.

Temari sighed and rubbed her temple. She was getting a migraine just from communicating with those girls. A single look in their direction could cause the annihilation of countless valuable brain-cells. This was such a pain in the ass.

"You okay, Tema?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"You didn't have to say yes, you know?" Daimaru gave her a concerned look.

"No, it's okay. They would have dragged me there if I'd said no anyways. May as well go with my dignity intact."

Daimaru nodded and dropped his head on her shoulder.

"Whatever suits you, I guess." he mumbled.

She smiled and brought her hand up to the nape of his neck.

"Thanks, Daim." She grinned into his ear. "You're too kind."


	3. Chapter 3 Llama Hedges

_**A/N: Well, I had an existential crisis this morning but I ended up laughing it of and telling myself to just write anothe**_ _ **r chapter for this fanfiction, so here it is.**_

 _ ***New character introduced. Woohoo***_

 _ **As usual, I need to remind you that naruto isn't mine. Just in case you thought I owned the franchise. Because *sob* I don't. *sniff*.**_

 _ **Enjoy, R &Retc etc.**_

Llama hedges and Creepy Coordinators (?)

Shikamaru was shocked to discover that he didn't find the whole 'exchange' to be as troublesome as he'd first suspected.

To begin with, it meant missing a class or two each week to read or write replies, also, it meant that he could put even less effort than usual into his classwork, because the exchange ensured that he'd have enough credits to move up to the next grade by the end of next June. Man, he loved how warped the education system was.

"Right class," Kakashi sensei called to get the attention of the six students whom he had dragged out of class. They were missing biology this time.

"Your flight is booked for October sixteenth. I expect to meet you outside the school gates at half past seven on that day. The school has organised for a coach to bring us to the airport. Have I made myself clear?"

He asked, looking directly at Shikamaru who had nodded whilst stifling a yawn.

"Good. I want none of you to be late."

He handed out the replies from their previous letters. This was probably the fourth or fifth letter he'd received from Temari by now.

'Shikamaru Nara.

I am glad to hear that your friend feels better after his fall down the stairs. A few acquaintances of mine dragged me to some shops last Friday and forced me into purchasing various household items for your arrival. Please do not be alarmed when you see a small potted Llama hedge on your bedside table. Just thought I'd warn you. Matsuri insisted that the green leaves would make you feel 'at home'.

Baki-sensei said that we should suggest a few things to pack, so here are some recommendations of mine:

Common sense, (many people lack it. I'll kick you out of my house if you have none)

Clothes (Duh)

Toiletries (again, duh)

Things to entertain you like books and shit. My brother will probably hog the TV the whole time.

Don't worry about clothing for school, our office will provide you with our uniform on your first day.

Please bring warm pyjamas (cos the desert is a cold bitch at night) and warm day clothes (cos the desert is a hot bitch during the day)

Honestly, that's about it.

Hope you write back legibly this time. I have better things to do with my life than to translate your messy writing into the roman alphabet.

Yours,

Sabaku no Temari.

P. S. The hedge Llama is called Elliot, according to Matsuri. Don't question it.'

Shikamaru immediately began writing back.

Temari always had a no-bullshit attitude when it came to writing letters. She was clearly not enjoying the program but he could see that she was making an effort at small talk. He handed up what he'd written (as legibly as he could) and re-read his letter. He couldn't help but smile. Maybe this exchange wasn't such a bad thing after all.

OoOoO

"They will be arriving on October sixteenth, that's in a week and a bit. I expect you all to be there to greet them at the airport when they arrive, which should be at around half two. Understood?"

The class nodded in unison.

"Good. You should bring a whiteboard or a page with their name on it too, seeing as you probably don't know each others' faces."

Matsuri and Yukata immediately started chattering about how they knew Ino and Tenten's faces already, having sent each other pictures of themselves. Gaara already knew what Naruto looked like from Jinchuuriki summer camp and Kankuro said something about recognising Kiba from the dog he was bringing. To top it all off, Daimaru had been given a self-portrait from Sai. It suddenly struck Temari that she was the only one who wouldn't recognise her pen pal. She was slightly embarrassed at her lack of planning, but she brushed it off. What did it matter? He was most likely to be the most bored looking kid anyways.

"Another thing," Baki began, raising his voice above the excited chatter. "The exchange coordinator will be there at the airport to make sure that no one is left behind."

A knock came from the classroom door.

"One minute!" Baki called.

"I have invited him here so that he can run you through the main plan of things."

He strolled to the door and opened it, allowing the coordinator to walk into the classroom.

"Hey," The man said in a deep voice as he looked at the students seated in front of him. The man was tall and had silver-blonde hair slicked back casually. Everything about him screamed 'fuckboy'. Temari couldn't help but think that he was attractive.

"My name is Hidan," he began, running his hands through his hair and leaning against the whiteboard. Baki rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna be making sure you guys don't mess up during your exchange."

Matsuri giggled and raised her hand.

"Yes, young miss?" Hidan asked, earning another giggle.

"Um, H-Hidan-kun, aren't you too young to be working as a coordinator?" She asked, blushing under the man's gaze.

"I'm studying religion and international relations at university young miss, I'm currently interning at the Akatsuki Agency as a student exchange coordinator for extra credits. Does that answer your question?"

Matsuri nodded, her face worryingly flushed.

"Any other questions before I begin?"

He looked at each of the students, locking eyes with Temari and smirking before looking away. She felt her face heat up.

It was Yukata's turn to raise her hand.

"Little miss?" Hidan chose, this time.

Yukata's face went fire-truck-red in an instant.

"W-what year of college are you in H-Hidan-kun?!" She stammered. Temari rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Stupid fan-girls.

Hidan chuckled. "Now now, little miss, that's not relevant to your exchange module now, is it?" Yukata blushed a deeper shade of red -which surprised Temari, who didn't think that was possible- and shook her head.

Hidan laughed again .

" But to answer your question, I'm in my second year."

"Okaaay," Baki-sensei interrupted. How about you do your job, Hidan-kun, and run them through the program?"

"Sure thing, man." Baki's eye twitched. He was clearly not okay with having a younger person casually call him 'man'.

"So when you kids go to pick up your pals at the airport, I'll be there making sure you show up and everything. If not, I'll contact you and tell you to get your ass in gear and pick them up."

"Language!" Baki hissed.

"Sorry, man. So if you could all write down some kinda contact info followed by you name and address onto this sheet of paper, that'd be great."

He took out a page and handed it to Kankuro, who was nearest to him.

After writing his info, Kankuro passed it onto Gaara, who gave it to (a still blushing) Matsuri who continued to pass it on. When Temari got it last. She could feel Hidan's eyes on her. She drew an arrow up to Gaara and Kankuro's names and wrote 'ditto', followed by her name. She stood up and walked to the top of the class, intending to put it on the teachers desk, but Hidan stretched out his hand, waiting for her to give it to him directly. She shoved it in his hand and turned to walk away. "Thanks pretty miss," he called after her, causing jealous glares to be sent her way from Matsuri and Yukata.

Temari rolled her eyes and ignored the blush that was creeping its way up her flesh.

This Hidan guy was being... Troublesome. She grinned at her choice of words. The Nara kid was having a strange effect on her.

After running them through the layout of the exchange, Hidan left-but not before sending a wink in Temari's direction.

She felt Daimaru stiffen beside her and she leaned into him. Both to reassure him and keep Hidan away. That creep was seriously getting on her nerves.

OoOoO

"SHIKAMARU!"

The boy sighed and called back down to his mother.

"What?"

"HAVE YOU FINISHED PACKING?!"

"mom, the trip is in like, four days."

"I DON'T CARE. PACK YOUR BAGS BEFORE NAPPING!"

Shikamaru sighed and rolled off his bed, he figured he may as well just get the packing done. Then he wouldn't have to worry about it and he could sleep for the last few days before the trip.

"I'M ASSUMING YOU BOUGHT A GIFT FOR YOUR HOST FAMILY?!"

"Wh-what? Um... No. I didn't but I can ge-"

"RUDE, UNGRATEFUL, LAZY!" Yoshino was still screaming, even though she was almost right outside his room. "WHAT HAVE I RAISED?!"

"Mom, why are you still yelling. I'm right beside you," the boy winced. "Do you want to have to add deaf to your list? I'll go out and get them a gift after packing. Okay?"

"DON'T YOU 'OKAY' ME MR. LAZYBONES," Yoshino shrieked, suddenly swooping down and embracing her only son. "I'll miss you, boy. Don't do anything stupid. Do not do anything I wouldn't do and definitely don't do anything your father would do. Got it?"

Shikamaru nodded, only half listening to what his demon-mother was saying.

"Now finish packing!" She said, softly compared to her previous orders.

"Mendokuse..."

Yoshino smacked him upside the head.

"YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS IF YOU'D JUST PUT SOME EFFORT INTO YOUR CLASS WORK!" His mother yelled, back to her usual self instantly. "NOW GET TO IT! CHOP CHOP!"


	4. Chapter 4 Flight to Suna

_**A/N: woohoo, Shika and Team finally meet each other!**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy thichapte I kinda wrote it really early this morning. Also, my hidden feminine side i never knew I had kinda came out as I described Temari's outfit? Sorry •-•Thank you**_ _ **u for all the reviews and favessss!**_

 _ **No, Naruto's not mine. :(**_

 ** _Flight to Suna._**

"I'll miss you guys,"

"Awww, I'll miss you too, Chō." Ino whined. "I'll bring you back some traditional Sunan food, okay?"

Chōji's eyes lit up at the mention of food and he nodded excitedly as he put another piece of meat on the barbeque grill, smiling when he heard it sizzle.

"Good luck Shikamaru, I hope you get on well with the girl."

Shikamaru nodded.

"Thanks. I'll need it." He muttered, smiling weakly. Ino rolled her eyes dramatically,

"She'll probably kick you out of the house with that attitude of yours." The blonde snapped

" You haven't even met her yet and you're already sulking. Geez, the poor thing. Karma's gonna bite you on the ass just for being such a total prick towards her based on her gender."

" Ino, even if Temari were a boy, I'd still be pissed off about this exchange." Shikamaru explained, raising his voice slightly above her babbling.

"She seems brash and troublesome. Even if she didn't, I still wouldn't want to go on the exchange."

Ino continued glaring at him and picked at the salad leaves that she'd accumulated on her plate.

"Just give it a shot, Shika. You'll see it's not _all_ that bad. I swear."

"How would _you_ know?"

"That Temari girl has been mentioned in the letters I got from Yukata. She's very popular in her school you know?"

Shikamaru shrugged. He and Temari only spoke about how little they cared for the exchange in their letters. A few odd mentions of current events at school occasionally found their way into them (Such as Chōji's trip down the stairs) but that was the extent of their friendly communication.

If anything, he was pleased that she'd have people to talk to. It meant she'd leave him alone throughout his stay.

"And apparently her brothers are soooo cute," Ino continued. " They're really popular. Prodigies, all three of them. They're known as the 'sand siblings'."

"Why is she failing then?" Shikamaru asked, marginally curious as to what the answer would be.

"Haven't you asked her yourself?" Ino chided. "It's because she doesn't get on with the other students. Apparently she landed a girl in hospital too..."

"So why is she popular?"

Ino shrugged.

"Boys apparently like her because she's pretty, though that won't be a problem once I arrive," she added, flicking back a long strand of blonde hair. "She comes from a wealthy background too. Apparently she's super mysterious."

Shikamaru sighed, regretting having asked the question. He hated gossip.

"If anything, this information just makes me dread the whole thing more, Ino."

"Whatever." The blonde snapped, "I need to go double-check that I've packed everything. See you tomorrow boys!"

She dropped some money on the table and sauntered out of the barbeque restaurant.

"I'll be seeing you off at the school gate tomorrow, man,"

"Thanks. I'll send you letters whilst I'm gone."

"Shikamaru?"

"Hn?"

" I really do hope you have fun. Make the most of it."

"Thanks man,"

"No problem."

OoO

"KANKURŌ!"

"WHAT?!"

"CLEAN YOUR GODDAMN ROOM RIGHT NOW!"

"OKAY OKAY," The makeup wearing teenager grumbled, pulling his cat-ear hood down from his head. "What are you, my mom?"

Seeing the glare his older sister sent his way, he shut his mouth and began stacking up the magazines that littered his bedroom floor, strategically sandwiching more... _Inappropriate_ ones between sci-fi comics.

"Why are you so worked up about this, sis?"

"I don't want strangers to come into this house and be greeted by your mess," Temari snapped, leaving the boy alone to clean his room.

"Sheesh," he groaned. " What's _her_ problem?"

Temari flopped down on her bed and forced herself to calm down. She knew it wasn't right to take her anger out on her brother (fun as that was), but she was just so pissed off about the entire exchange.

The house was the least of her worries in reality. Since usually only she, Gaara and Kankurō lived in the large house, there was plenty of room and four spare bedrooms. She and Gaara weren't particularly messy, and Kankurō was easy to nag into tidying after himself. Her real problem was that she wasn't comfortable being surrounded by five boys for three months, and then live alone with one of them for the next three.

She was also slightly concerned as to what the three boys would think of their entire messed up upbringing.

She could only hope that they wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Better check the rooms one last time," she sighed, sitting up from her bed and padding out the door.

Gaara's room: Clean

Guest room #1: Clean

Kankuro's room:...in progress

Guest room #2: Clean

Temari's room: Cleaner than clean

Guest room #3: Clean.

"Go to sleep once you're done, Kurō. We have a long day tomorrow."

A grunt sounded from the other side of the door.

"I'll take that as a ' _Yes_ , _sister_ _dearest_ '."

Temari huffed, shaking her head in disapproval. She shuffled across the corridor to Gaara's bedroom.

She knocked on the door and walked in before hearing a reply. Gaara hurriedly stuffed something under his bed and looked up at her with big innocent eyes.

She chuckled.

"What have you got there, buddy?"

"N-nothing!" He stammered, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Temari slid down to the floor beside him and reached under his bed, not breaking eye-contact with him.

She felt something soft and fluffy and pulled it out. Gaara looked at the floor and blushed as red as his hair. His usual expression of indifference shattered and replaced by nerves.

It was... A fox teddy?

Temari raised an eyebrow at him, not sure why he was so embarrassed.

"It's a gift... For Naruto." The boy whispered. "I made it m-myself."

Temari couldn't help but smile.

"Why were you so worked up about that?" She asked, her smile growing wider

"B-because I made it myself." He explained quietly. "It's embarrassing."

Temari almost laughed at how adorable her baby brother was being. She gave him a peck on the forehead and stood up.

"That's not embarrassing at all," she ruffled his hair, "I'm sure Naruto will love it Gaara, it's amazing."

Before she left the room, she looked over her shoulder and saw her little brother put a finger to the spot where she'd kissed him, a small smile on his face.

He put a small orange ribbon around the teddy's neck and held it at arms length, looking at it with his non-existent brows furrowed.

"Temari?" He asked, looking over to her figure that leaned against his doorframe.

"Hn?"

"Thankyou," the boy said with sincerity. "Thankyou for everything."

OoOoO

The trip to Suna was chaotic, or, as Shikamaru put it, ' _troublesome_ '.

The shuttle that the school had hired to take them to the airport arrived late. Though they should have left the school at 7:45, but the delay meant that they didn't leave until eight o'clock.

When they arrived at the airport at nine o'clock, they had only an hour to get through security and board the plane before it took off. Kiba slowed the entire group down by insisting he have a word 'in private' with Akamaru before parting ways with him. Afterwards, he ended up sobbing until Tenten pointed out to him that the flight was only three hours long.

The flight itself was supposed to be fun, in Shikamaru's opinion. He would be among his beloved clouds.

The flight, he later concluded, was far from it.

He was stuck in the middle seat between an upset Kiba and an overexcited Naruto who pressed his face up to the glass throughout the entire flight, meaning that Shikamaru couldn't even catch a single glimpse of the clouds.

As the plane landed, Shikamaru adjusted the time on his watch. Suna was in a different timezone to Konoha, which suited him fine. It meant he'd get to go to bed earlier.

Now being half-two (Suna time) the group, accompanied by Kakashi-sensei, made their way towards the baggage carousel. Kiba was reunited with Akamaru in a scene of such intense human-animal PDA that Shikamaru wondered wether it was legal to do such things in public to a member of another species.

After Ino yelled at the two to stop hugging each other, they got ready to collect their baggage. Except there was (of course) a problem with the carousel, which didn't work.

Half an hour later, and after much yelling and tears on Ino's part, their baggage was collected and they headed out the arrival gates.

 _At_ _last_.

Shikamaru thought the troubles were over but the worst was yet to come.

Nothing could have prepared him for the true horror.

 _Squealing_.

So. Much. Squealing.

" _OHMYGOSHAREYOUINOOOOO_?!"

" _OHMYGOSHIAM_! _AREYOUYUKATAAA_?!"

" _OHEMGEEEE_! _TENTEN_?!"

" _YESS_! _MATSURIIIIII_?!"

And much, _much_ more.

The first thing Shikamaru saw was the large group that stood at arrivals. There were three boys, three girls and an older guy with silver hair.

Then the squealing began between two of the Suna girls and both of the Konoha girls.

After a few shocked exchanges between the boys, a young Suna student with bright red hair walked up to Naruto with a very slight smile and extended his hand.

"It's nice to see you again, Naruto-kun," he said in a soft voice. Naruto shook his hand excitedly and then pulled the boy in for a hug.

The red head looked shocked at first, but then relaxed and hugged Naruto back, blushing slightly.

The next to take initiative was a slightly older boy who wore strange face paint and wore a hood that was shaped almost like cat-ears. He walked over to where Kiba and Akamaru stood.

"I'm assuming you're Kiba?" He asked.

"Aww, what gave me away?"

"The dog that you never stopped talking about," the boy laughed.

"Ah, I see. Nice ta meet ya, Kankurō." Kiba said, smacking the painted boy on the back in a friendly manner.

"You too, man."

The two that were left were still standing a little away from the group. The girl, who Shikamaru could assume was Temari, was being held by a grinning boy who was whispering in her ear. She laughed at whatever it was that he'd said and punched him lightly on the arm. They hardly seemed to have noticed the large group of students that had just arrived to greet them. And the squealing.

The boy suddenly looked up and saw Sai and Shikamaru standing awkwardly and looking at the two of them.

He pulled away from probably-Temari(who was looking slightly embarrassed) and walked towards them, clearing his throat.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't um-notice." He muttered. "I'm Daimaru, by the way." He smiled at Shikamaru and turned to Sai.

"Sai?"

The latter nodded and held out his hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Daimaru-kun,"

Daimaru took his hand and they awkwardly held each others' hand until Daimaru shook it lightly and let go.

Probably-Temari made her way towards the three boys and frowned at Shikamaru.

"Nara, I'm assuming?"

"Sabaku no Temari, I can guess." The girl cocked her head to the side and smirked at him, nodding.

Finally able to put a face to the mysterious author of his letters, Shikamaru couldn't say she was what he'd expected. Ino had told him that boys found her pretty, but he had expected her to be a typical stick-thin straightened-hair pale-skinned trendy girl. Instead, he saw a curvy girl with messy sandy blond hair bunched into four pigtails, wearing clothes that would never be seen within a ten mile radius of Ino's wardrobe. She wore a simple pair of stonewashed ripped jeans with a dark tank top and open flannel shirt on top. To top it all off, her shoes were Doc Martens, a brand which Ino hated.

He took in her appearance and couldn't help but think that she was, in fact pretty. No, not pretty. _Attractive_.

He was pleasantly surprised.

"Shall we head off then?" She asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. He nodded.

"Kurō, Garra, lets go!" She snapped, getting the attention of the red head and the face-paint boy.

They trudged over along with a smirking Kiba and an excited Naruto.

After more introductions (which included Kiba winking at Temari, earning him a not-so-playful punch from her and a worried look from Daimaru) they turned to leave the airport.

"Tema!"

The blonde turned around to see the boy who'd called her and smiled at the oncoming Daimaru who took her hand and led her to the side, whispering a few things to her before hugging her and rushing back to Sai, who was smiling blankly at a flirting Matsuri.

"Okay. Off we go!" She sighed, rolling her eyes.

They got into a large 8-seater taxi and headed of toward the Sabaku residence.

"Home" for the next three months.


	5. Chapter 5 Beanbags

_**A/N: AYYY, ANOTHER CHAPTER OF "VERSUS THE SULTANA"... Or "Against the Currents" whichever you prefer.**_

 _ **Thanks for all the reviews, they make the anxious introverted author feel less shitty.**_

 _ **I kind posted this a little earlier than intended because I'm going back to school tomorrow and I'm not sure how regularly I'll be able to post, but I'll do my best :)**_

 _ **Enjoy the next chapter, and please tell me what you like/ what I should change etc.**_

 _ **Beanbags**_

The first thing Temari noticed was the earrings.  
She did not expect the Nara kid to wear such things.  
Honestly, she found that he wasn't _bad_ looking. He just had a resting bitch face.  
As she sat in the taxi, awkwardly squished between the sleeping Nara and a loud Naruto, she couldn't help but be surprised by how he looked. Sure, he had a lazy look in his eye, but it suited him. He was attractive in a strange kind of way. One thing that did bother her however was the pineapple shaped ponytail he chose to wear. Not only did it scream "screw gravity" but it also looked like something too troublesome for such a lazy guy to handle.  
After an hour and a half of driving, the group of six arrived at the Sabaku residence.  
Three jaws dropped.  
Slightly embarrassed, Temari led the way inside the almost-mansion. She showed The Nara to his room (he immediately sat down on the bed to see how comfy it was) and after all the guests were settled in, she went to the kitchen to make dinner. She was glad that no one had tried to converse with her, other than introductions.  
She called Gaara and Kankurō down to lay the table and threatened them _(kindly)_ to make sure they didn't act up or do anything stupid during the meal. The threats were mainly aimed at Kankurō.  
"Dinner!" She called up the stairs to the three guests who politely made their way towards the dining room. Temari set out a separate bowl for the dog a small distance away from the rest of them.  
Throughout the meal, Kankuro and Kiba discussed some TV show which they both liked and Gaara and Naruto were having an animated conversation about how to lead a country. Temari and Shikamaru sat in a semi-comfortable silence until The Nara tried to 'break the ice'.  
" _Sooooo,_ your parents aren't home often?" He asked, clearly realising that that was the wrong approach to take once he saw the look on Temari's face.  
"U-Um. Our father is on a business trip." Temari said hurriedly, clearly putting an end to the conversation before it began.  
"What about your mom?" Kiba inquired, not reading the mood.  
"She uh, passed away a while back." Temari avoided eye contact with everyone at the table and stared down at her plate, suddenly losing her appetite.  
"I'm sorry to hear that, Temari-san," came The Nara's voice.  
She shook her head. "It's fine."  
Kankuro knew better than that.  
"Um, Tema, lets clear the table, 'Kay?" Temari nodded and stood up quickly from the table, stacking up the plates while Kankuro gathered the glasses and cutlery.  
Once inside the kitchen, Temari brought her fist back and swung it at the wall. After a satisfying cracking noise, she shook her head and put the dishes in the sink for Gaara to wash later.  
Time to explain the rules to the guests.

OoOoO

"I'm really sorry," Shikamaru apologised, bowing his head to Gaara, the only host that hadn't gotten up to clear the table.  
"That's quite alright, Shikamaru-kun." The red haired boy explained. "She's quite... Touchy on that subject. She'll get over it though."  
A loud 'crack' sounded from the kitchen and Temari walked out a few moments later, looking less like she'd seen a ghost and more like she'd killed a man, and didn't regret it.  
"Okay, I'll need to lay out a few rules for you guys." she said, authority oozing through her words.  
"First off, please keep your rooms clean, Kiba, I don't mind your dog sleeping in your room, but please air it out by opening the window in the mornings."  
Kiba nodded and Akamaru barked happily.  
"Sure thing,"  
"If you guys want to leave the house during your stay, please take the spare keys which we leave on the hook beside the front door so that you don't wake the others up when coming home if it's late."  
A few nods went around the room before Kankuro continued for her.  
"Also, please take your shoes off at the door. That's about it."  
Temari stood up and left the dining room, closing the door behind her.  
Shikamaru felt bad for stupidly bringing up the topic of parents. He shouldn't have tried to have a conversation with her.  
"Nara," came Kankuro's voice.  
"Don't worry about it, she isn't mad at you."  
Shikamaru nodded shakily before standing up to head to his bedroom.  
"Goodnight."  
The bedroom where he was sleeping was located at the end closest to the stairs on the first floor corridor. It was opposite Temari's and beside Naruto's. As he opened his door, he heard something fall from the other room.  
A loud noise could be heard.  
He knocked on the door and waited a few seconds .  
"Kankuro, I swear if that's you I'll kill you. I've told you a million times I _don't_ need you to com-" the door swung open. "-fort me..."  
"Eh, hi." Shikamaru said awkwardly. "I just wanted to um, apologise for what I said earlier,"  
The blonde girl looked a bit surprised at first but she smiled.  
"Don't be sorry, you did nothing wrong." She saw his uncertain look and added "Seriously, We're all used to it. Mother died fifteen years ago and our father is a virtual stranger to us. I was only embarrassed about it. Not upset."  
"Why would you be embarrassed?"  
"We had a fairly twisted up bringing. We usually don't talk about it to guests." She smiled once more and shifted her wait to her right foot.  
"Do you want to come in?" She asked. "We haven't properly spoken."  
Shikamaru felt himself flush. The only girl who's room he'd ever been in was Ino's, and even then he wasn't exactly comfortable with being surrounded by soft colours and frills. Seeing the look on his face, Temari chuckled.  
"I'm not asking you to sleep with me kid," she laughed. "I'm only asking if you'd rather talk in a more _appropriate_ setting."  
She turned sideways as an invitation and he awkwardly walked into her room.  
He was mildly surprised to see how un-feminine the room was. Her walls were a dark grey colour and her bed sheets were cream. There were four beanbags in the middle of the room beside a small square table. Her desk was in the far corner, just below a shelf which held six beautiful fans.  
It was fairly impersonal the entire setting, but it wasn't unpleasant either.  
"Sit down," Temari ordered and he sank down into the beanbag closest to him which was pale green. Temari sat on the opposite side of the table on a lilac beanbag and studied him carefully.  
"You're nothing like I expected," she said after a while.  
"Hn? How so?"  
"I expected you to have shorter hair, I guess." Temari began. "And I didn't expect the earrings. You do look lazy though, I'll give you that."  
Shikamaru smirked and propped his head up on his hand and stifled a yawn.  
"Yeah, you're different to how I expected you to be as well." He said.  
Temari matched his smirk and mimicked his voice.  
"How so?"  
"Well I expected you to be typically pretty, and feminine." He said, phrasing his sentence carefully, but apparently not carefully enough.  
"The hell is that supposed to mean, Nara?" She snapped. Her voice was still playful underneath the false anger. "Am I not pretty enough for you?"  
Unaffected by her mocking, Shikamaru shrugged.  
"Sure you are, but I expected you to be pretty in the same way as Ino is. All straight hair and paler than pale skin. A fake kind of beauty that people work hard for. Where they go on crazy diets and buy weird face and hair things. You're not though."  
"So I'm _not_ pretty?"  
"No," Shikamaru said after a moments pause. "You're definitely attractive though."  
He suddenly became aware of what he was talking about so casually, but it didn't bother him so much. He was simply stating the obvious.  
"Nara, there's no difference," Temari sighed.  
"There is. Pretty is more innocent and naïve. You're attractive in a mature sense. You look like someone who is healthy, not stick thin and not obese. Your hair hasn't been put through hours of hair straightening sessions and you don't wear clothes that make you more appealing for men-or other women- instead you wear clothes that you can be comfortable in" he gestured to her outfit.  
"You aren't a pretty little princess. You're an attractive woman."  
Shikamaru looked up to see her blushing madly.  
"You make compliments sound like a list of chores," Temari chuckled. "Wow, day one and you're already chatting me up."  
Shikamaru felt heat rise in his face.  
"I'm not complimenting you, nor am I 'chatting you up' I'm simply stating some facts."  
He stood up and straightened out his shirt.  
"I'm going to bed. It was nice talking to you, Temari-san,"  
The girl smiled at him.  
"Nice talking to you too Nara, sleep well."  
She stood up and opened her bedroom door for him.  
"I'll wake you up at six tomorrow, school starts earlier here than in Konoha."  
Shikamaru nodded and stepped over a Dumbbell. That must have been what he'd heard falling earlier on.  
He walked out the door and turned to say good night when something finally clicked in his head.  
"WAIT, _SIX_?!"  
"Yup!" Temari smiled before closing the door in his face, leaving the tired boy alone in the corridor.  
"That means I'll only get eight hours of sleep..."


	6. Chapter 6 Uniform

_**A/N: Chapter number 6 *woohoo". Thankyou so much for all the Reviews! Lets keep this story going.**_

 _ **Also: Do you think Ino would be better with Sai or Kiba? Cos that can go both ways.**_

 _ **Enjoy the chapter. Review/Follow/Fave etc.**_

 _ **Naruto is still not mine:(**_

 _ **Uniform**_

"NARA!" Temari knocked on his door once more. " _DON'T_ MAKE ME COME IN THERE!"  
The door opened slowly and a tired looking Shikamaru shuffled put, wearing thick pyjamas with his hair tied back in the same ponytail as yesterday.  
"Breakfast is ready downstairs, sleepyhead," Temari snapped. "We're leaving in half an hour."  
The Nara yawned and nodded before padding down the stairs, muttering something along the lines of "troublesome..."  
Temari nearly laughed, but held herself back, deciding instead to go to her bedroom and get ready.  
After pulling on her uniform and re-tying her hair in it's signature four ponytails (She never left her room without them in place) she headed out her bedroom door and down the stairs, passing a still-exhausted Nara heading up to his room. They didn't exchange greetings.  
At 6:45 everyone was at the door and ready to leave. The Konohans were dressed in casual attire and the Sunans were in uniform.  
The walk to Suna Academy took only fifteen minutes, Temari and Shikamaru were the only ones who didn't talk to each other.  
Neither of them saw any reason to do so, she guessed. Halfway to the school, they turned a corner and almost ran into Sai and Daimaru. Temari immediately walked up to her boyfriend and slipped her arm through his, walking at his pace.  
When they arrived at the academy, each of the Sunans escorted their exchange member to the school office, where the secretary handed them uniforms in their respective sizes as well as their timetables, which were identical to their escorts. The Sunans had to wait for their pen pal to get dressed in the locker rooms before bringing them to class. The four of them were joined by Yukata and Matsuri as they waited.  
"Sooooo," Matsuri giggled, leaning in close to Temari. "Your pen pal is cute, don't you think?"  
Temari raised an eyebrow.  
"You think so?"  
Daimaru shot her a worried look, which she answered with a reassuring smile.  
"He's not my type anyway," Temari continued, leaning her back into Daimaru's side. "You guys can have him."  
Daimaru put his arm around Temari's waist and pulled her in a little closer to him. She gasped at his action and blushed when she heard Yukata and Matsuri giggling at her. A death glare from her shut them up.  
When the Konohans left the changing rooms, she had to admit that they all looked good in their own way.  
Naruto and Kiba both looked attractive in a playful way, their blazer sleeves rolled up and their shirts slightly untucked. Sai had more of a "perfect student" aesthetic going on and it suited him in a mysterious kind of way.  
The blonde girl, Temari had to admit, was gorgeous, and the pleated skirt showed off her perfect legs and her shirt molded to her slim frame perfectly, perfectly accentuating certain... Assets she had.  
Temari's low-key bisexual side had a miniature-awakening when she saw Matsuri's pen pal walk out of the changing rooms, the girl, Tenten, had a great figure. She was toned and tanned and absolutely stunning in a tom-boyish way. She hadn't rolled up her skirt like Ino had and her shirt wasn't as tight fitting but Temari honestly would have had a crush on the girl had she not mentally reminded herself that the girl was probably straight. Besides, she had Daimaru.  
Right?  
Daimaru, meanwhile, was staring open mouthed at Ino. As were Kankuro and Kiba. Sai looked at her wordlessly and Gaara wasn't looking at her at all. He was busy staring at Naruto, a small blush creeping onto his cheeks.  
Temari rolled her eyes and shifted in Daimaru's arms, reminding him subtly that he had a girlfriend. And a hot one at that.  
The Nara left the changing rooms last, muttering that it was troublesome to have to get changed twice in the space of an hour.  
And he looked damn good in the Suna uniform.  
She mentally scolded herself. No. No he did not look good. At all. She glanced up at him and stood up.  
"Lets go, Nara," she said, avoiding his eyes. He said nothing but walked alongside her.  
They headed off to Chemistry class.

OoOoO

Shikamaru liked the Suna uniform. It was black, unlike the green Konoha High one. The trim on the edge of the blazer was red and the Suna Academy crest was on the breast pocket. It was an hourglass shape, simply embroidered in the material.  
His first class was chemistry, which he didn't mind. The subject itself was easy, so he could just sleep...  
"All rise"  
He stood up in a panic.  
Oh. Suna was one of _those_ kinds of schools, he groaned internally. What a drag.  
After the teacher seated himself, the class returned to their seats and Shikamaru couldn't help but notice how good everyone's posture was compared to his own slouch. This was all so troublesome.  
He leaned down on his desk and tucked his head into his arms...slowly...drifting to sleep...  
"If the four exchange students could please introduce themselves at the top of the class,"  
Shikamaru groaned out loud this time, earning a chuckle from Temari.  
He swung into a standing position and trailed behind Sai, Ino and Tenten, who were also in chemistry during this period.  
Ino animatedly kicked off the introduction.  
"Hi! My name is Yamanaka Ino, it's so nice to be here! Thankyou for welcoming me, let's all get along!"  
"Hello. My name is Sai, please take good care of us."  
"I'm Tenten!" The brunette began "I hope to get on well with everyone, thankyou!"  
"Um... I'm Shikamaru." The class waited for him to continue. He sighed. "It's nice to meet you all," he shrugged.  
As the four headed back to their desks, Ino prodded him in the ribs and whispered angrily to him.  
"That was so rude, Shika!"  
He sighed and ignored her, sitting himself down beside Temari.  
On her other side was Daimaru, Shikamaru assumed he was her boyfriend, and beside him was Sai.  
Shikamaru couldn't help but notice that Temari seemed to be holding back a laugh, and he kicked himself for being so stupid on the first day.  
The class was all theory,meaning that Shikamaru could just sleep the whole time. After chemistry, they had a double period of English. This time the class was shared only with Tenten and her pen pal, Matsuri.  
The two Brunettes sat down next to Temari and Shikamaru and, to his relief, the three girls ignored him throughout the first half of the class. The teacher gave them a short pause after the first period and allowed students to leave for a toilet break or fresh air.  
"Ten minutes! Do I make myself clear?"  
Tenten and Matsuri went to the toilet, leaving Shikamaru alone with Temari.  
"What do you think of it so far?"  
"Hn?"  
"The school, Nara."  
"Oh, It's not too bad. A bit formal, but not bad. I like the uniform."  
Temari seemed satisfied with the answer and nodded.  
She stretched, leaning forward over her desk and she jerked her head to the side, causing an audible 'crack' to be heard. She then leaned in closer to Shikamaru and muttered,  
"I hate half of these people."  
Shikamaru smirked.  
"Yeah, I heard you landed someone in hospital..."  
Temari froze and stared at him.  
"You don't know the full story. That little bitch asked for it." The blonde practically spat the words out. "She had better not piss me off again."  
"Mind telling me what happened?" Shikamaru asked. "So that I don't get beat up by you too," he hastily added.  
"She just said some stuff."  
"About...?"  
"My brother."  
Shikamaru said nothing. He thought that it was kind of Temari as an older sister to look out for her little brothers. Even if she did take a violent approach.  
Temari continued.  
"I was walking down the corridor when she kinda just showed up and shoved me against the wall. Stupid decision, if you ask me," she said, a glint in her eye.  
"She started calling my brother a freak because of his mental illnesses. Said that he shouldn't be attending school if he's bipolar. Then she laughed about his depression and crippling anxiety as though it were some trivial shit she read about in a stupid magazine. I punched her before she could start talking about his sexuality. That's one they always leave till last."  
She shrugged and leaned back in her chair,  
"At least I know she won't mess with me or my brothers anymore."  
Shikamaru found himself smiling, and respecting the scary girl even more than before.  
He HHe later saw that she was more than just a pretty (or rather, attractive) face and a violent woman. When the teacher, Hisaishi-sensei called on her to give her opinion on the poem that they'd just read, the blonde spoke knowledgeably about it and seemed pleased with herself when Hisaishi gave her a somewhat shocked look.  
"Quite right," he said. "Pathetic fallacy was used to give a more dreary atmosphere to the setting. Hence the rain at a funeral."  
With a smug smile, Temari went back to not paying attention, and Shikamaru had to admit that he was mildly impressed. She was actually intelligent.  
The bell rang for lunch and the students filed out of the classroom, excitedly heading towards the canteen.  
The exchange students and their hosts sat together at a large table in the corner of the hall.  
Shikamaru and Temari were debating her interpretation of Ulysses and Daimaru awkwardly stood to the side, having never read the masterpiece.  
Kiba was worrying about Akamaru while Kankuro reassured him that the mutt was fine. The four girls were planning a trip and Sai watched them fret over meeting times. Naruto and Gaara were whispering to each other.  
Shikamaru listened as Temari continued to rant about Joyce's intentions.  
 _Ino was right,_ he thought after a while, his eyes lingering on the girl in front of him. _This isn't so bad after all._

 _OoOoO_


	7. Chapter 7 Witness

**_A/N: Hello again! Another chapter *yay* I'm trying to get through as much of this story as I can before my workload increases for the school year, apologies if my posting isn't as regular as before. I'll do my best :) thank you so much for all the reviews:_**

 ** _ohud63, whattadragg, SnowHusky20 and guests! (Figured I'd name y'all.)_**

 ** _Anyways, let's get on with this._**

 ** _(Naruto= Kishimoto-Sama's, Against the Currents= Mine.) :(_**

 ** _Witness_**

"Hello class," the teacher said as she walked into the room.  
"Seeing as we have new students joining us today, I figured we could have a class discussion on the cultural and academic differences between Suna and Konoha before we pick a motive for our debate. Sound good?"  
The class nodded excitedly. Public speaking had always been Temari's favourite subject, she liked debating with people and _Loved_ proving them wrong.  
"Can the exchange students please raise their hands?"  
Shikamaru lazily raised his hand beside her and Ino, the only other transfer who's pen pal did public speaking, did the same, but with more energy.  
"Great," Yamada-sensei exclaimed. "Can you tell us a bit about the any differences between Suna and Konoha that you've noticed?"  
Ino happily started talking.  
"Well, fashion trends are different," she began.  
"People in Suna wear more dull colours, and girls don't seem to wear as many skirts..."  
She seemed satisfied that everyone's attention was on her now, she continued, leaning slightly forward over her desk, causing a lot of the guys to stare at something a little too low to be her eyes.  
"I feel as though beauty standards are different too. In Konoha, tanned skin seems more tropical and different, whereas in Suna, paler skin is rarer to find. Where I come from, pale skin is what most people find attractive most of the time. I'm sure the opposite is the case here."  
"How about you?" Yamada-sensei asked, turning her attention to Shikamaru.  
Temari snickered as she saw his half-sleeping face turn to one of frustration.  
"Yeah, what she said..."  
The teacher raised her eyebrows at him.  
"Well..." He continued, " In Konoha, it's true that people wear brighter colours, and girls do wear more skirts... Guess that means Sunans have more common sense."  
This caused a few of the girls in the class to giggle.  
Ino spun around in her seat to glare at him.  
"Excuse me, Nara, but what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"  
The dark haired boy shrugged.  
"Skirts are kind of useless, don't you think?" He sighed. "If there's a gust of wind, it flips up and then the girl is screeching. It's troublesome."  
"Skirts are pretty," Ino insisted. "And they look far nicer than trousers. Trousers are so ugly!"  
"Hey wait a second," came Temari's voice. " _Both_ of you are just being stupid."  
Yamada-sensei smirked and looked at Temari. She loved when that girl voiced her opinion, she always gave an interesting angle to the debate.  
"People should just wear whatever the hell they want. It shouldn't depend on what's trendy or what shows of your 'assets' best or what's comfortable or whatever." Temari continued, her voice growing more confident with every word. "If people stopped judging others on the clothes they wear, I guarantee you that the human race would be a damn site more evolved. People should be allowed to wear whatever they want. Some girls, like you, Ino, may prefer to wear clothes that make them look prettier and that are fashionable, and that's fine. Others, like Nara, may prefer to wear clothes that are comfy. So what? Who cares?  
"So Ino, if a girl wants to wear trousers, it doesn't actually mean shit. Trousers aren't 'ugly' as you put it. They're just more convenient. And Nara, if a girl wants to feel pretty and show off her legs, she has every right to do so, it doesn't make her a slut and it certainly shouldn't make _any_ difference to you if the wind lifts it up."  
A guy at the back wolf whistled as she finished her rant and a few of the other boys chuckled. Temari got appreciative glances from the other girls.  
"Okay," the teacher brought the attention back to her. "What should today's motive be?"  
There was a silence.  
"Riiiight, no one?"  
Another silence.  
"Okay, I'll pick one then, if no one has any suggestions."  
Yamada-sensei picked up a whiteboard marker and turned to the board, thinking for a moment before writing the motive down in big loopy letters.  
 _'Physical Appearance is The MOST Important Part of A Person.'_  
The class divided into a proposition and an opposition side.  
A few people lingered in the middle.  
"Let me explain how this works for the two new students. This is a walking debate, anyone can speak up whenever they feel like it and they have a valid point. If the other side has made points that you agree with, it's okay to change side.  
"By the end of class, the side with the most supporters is declared the winner. All good?"  
The two nodded. Shikamaru and Temari were on the opposition, whilst Ino was on the proposition along with Yukata.  
The platinum blonde kicked off the debate.  
"Brains, personality and charisma are all very important, but physical appearance is the most important part," she began, standing up and putting her hand on her hips.  
"Think about it, looks are the first thing you see. That is what you notice first, and it can be what causes you to talk to someone."  
"Yeah," said a guy who stood behind her, " If girls weren't hot, they'd never have boyfriends!"  
Temari sprang up from her chair to sit on her desk, crossing her tanned legs and frowning.  
"That, Toru, is the stupidest thing I've heard all day," Temari snapped. " to begin with, beauty, or as you said, 'hot'ness, is in the eye of the beholder, right?" A few people nodded absent-mindedly.  
"So obviously there is no right or wrong when it comes to physical appearance, so clearly something that has no set definition can't be something that you live by. If everyone were to decide on their partners based on physical appearance, we'd be a generation of complete and utter gorgeous idiots, with more skirts than brain cells."  
"That doesn't sound bad at all." Came Yukata's voice.  
Temari rolled her eyes.  
"Exhibit A," she muttered, gesturing to the girl who had just spoken. A few people laughed.  
The people (mainly on the proposition side) who didn't understand Temari's joke glanced at each other with confused expressions.  
The same boy from the proposition spoke up again.  
"Yeah, you can say that, but looks are the only reason Daimaru's dating _you_ anyways, Temari."  
The blonde froze momentarily.  
"Don't just assume that everyone is as much of a douche as you, Toru. I know you're only bitter because I dumped you on day three."  
A few low whistles resounded around the room, and Temari swore she heard someone whisper "mic drop" from somewhere behind her.  
"Whatever bitch, I only liked you cos you were hot."  
"At least there's _something_ to like about me. I unfortunately can't say the same about you." Temari cocked her head to the side and smirked triumphantly.  
"Stupid bitch..."  
Temari's smile only widened.  
"You say stupid, but last I checked, I scored highest out of the year group on all subjects bar Biology. Are you implying that you are _beyond_ stupid?"  
Toru didn't speak for the rest of the class.  
When the bell sounded for the end of class, the opposition won with nineteen people, whereas the proposition only had six people left. Temari was the only one to have done any talking on behalf of her side.  
"Temari," Yamada-sensei called before the blonde could leave the room.  
"Yes miss?"  
"I'd like to talk to you for a moment."

OoOoO

Shikamaru made his way to the canteen with Ino and Yukata.  
"Temari was so rude!" Ino whined.  
Shikamaru rolled his eyes.  
"She made some very valid points, Ino,"  
"Oh yeah? Like what exactly?"  
"Looks aren't everything." Shikamaru sighed. "On a large scale, they hardly even count as important."  
Ino frowned at him and quickened her pace, swaying her hips dramatically to catch the attention of some passing boys. A younger boy who can't have been any older than twelve even dropped his books.  
"See?" Ino turned to him, smiling widely.  
Shikamaru ignored her.  
Once in the canteen, they sat at the usual table accompanied by the other transfers and hosts, bar Gaara and Naruto who had been suspiciously absent from most of their lunch breaks recently...  
"Nara,"  
"Hn?"  
He turned to see Temari looking down at him.  
"I want you on the debating team."  
"Wh-what?"  
That was Daimaru's voice. Temari smirked.  
" Yamada-sensei made me captain for this years team. I want Nara on board until the end of the first trimester. I think he'd be useful to us." She explained casually.  
"Temari-san..."  
"Drop the 'san', Nara, we've been living under the same roof for almost a week."  
"You still call me by my surname though,"  
"Whatever, will you do it?"  
Shikamaru was about to answer when she put a hand on his shoulder and said in a low, gentle voice:  
"Please,"  
Her eyes were practically begging him to accept. He hadn't noticed how amazing they were before this moment. The were a blue-green colour. The colour of the sea. They were swallowing him whole. They were beautiful. _She_ was beauti _\- oh kami no, don't think that!_  
He broke off eye contact with her and shook out whatever weird thoughts were still in his head.  
"Sure, I'll do it, troublesome woman."  
"Great!" Temari exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "The first competition is in two weeks. Here are the motives, we have to pick one. I like them all so you can decide what we do. I'll go get more people."  
She handed him a sheet of paper and with that, she waltzed away.  
Shikamaru glanced down at the motives.  
' _1\. The death penalty should be abolished._  
 _2\. All people should be vegetarian._  
 _3\. School uniforms should be banned._  
 _4\. Abortion should be legal everywhere._  
 _5\. Gay marriage should be legal. '_  
He sighed and laid his head down on the desk.

Shikamaru, Kiba and Naruto all headed back to the Sabaku residence, along with their hosts and Daimaru. Sai was invited to hang out with Ino and the other girls. Shikamaru sat in the back garden for a little while before deciding to head upstairs to his room to make a start on the speech for debating.  
As he passed by Temari's room, he heard a strange noise and paused for a moment, before turning into his room.  
Then there was a slightly louder noise, of something colliding with a wall. He stopped again and frowned at her closed bedroom door. What was she up to?  
He was about to knock on the door when he heard a loud yelp of pain.  
Without knocking, he just opened the door and glanced into the room.  
"Is everything alr-"  
He froze. Temari was being pressed against the wall by Daimaru who looked up in shock from where he was kissing (biting?) her neck.  
He had one hand on her hip and the other in her hair.  
Temari was holding his arm with one hand and had the other wrapped around his neck.  
The three of them stared at each other, both boys blushing madly, before Temari started yelling.  
"WHAT THE HELL NARA?!" Her voice was louder than Ino's on her period. "DON'T JUST WALK INTO A GIRL'S ROOM!"  
Shikamaru practically ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Once in the safety of his own bedroom, his brain finally processed what he'd just witnessed.  
He didn't know why he was so shocked by what Temari and her boyfriend were doing. They were both eighteen, so they weren't breaking the law or anything but he was just...  
"You're _jealous_ ," said a voice inside his head.  
"No, you aren't. You definitely aren't." Said another. He told himself to listen to the latter.  
"But you like her."  
"No. You don't."  
"Yes. You do.  
"No. You don't."  
"Yeah," he said out loud after a while. "I do."


	8. Chapter 8 Her Softer Side

_**A/N: Yay! It's my birthday, so I'm giving you the gift of another chapter! I feel as though I'm moving a bit slowly than I'd like, so this fan fiction might be a bit longer than I'd originally intended. I get carried away, but please bear with me!**_

 _ **On we gooooo!**_

Her Softer Side

Temari refused to make eye contact with Shikamaru for the next four days.  
She ate her breakfast before he woke up and sat far away from him in class. She knew it wasn't entirely his fault that he saw her and Daimaru making out, but she was just embarrassed that he had.  
At lunch, she was sandwiched between Ino and Matsuri and she was trying desperately not to look at Shikamaru, or Tenten who still managed to make her blush a little.  
"Guys, we should totally do something for Halloween!" Yukata suggested, bouncing up and down on her seat like a little kid.  
"Yeah!" Squealed Ino, "Like a party!"  
Temari rolled her eyes, Here we go again...  
"Temari-Chan!"  
"Hn?"  
"We should have it at your place! It's bigger than any of our houses, plus your dad is away, right?"  
Temari shrugged. She was going to be nagged into doing this anyways, she didn't have much of a choice.  
"Sure, whatever,"  
"OHEMGEEE REALLY?!"  
"Sure, I don't care,"  
And so the next forty minutes of lunch break involved the four girls yapping about Halloween plans to a bored Temari.  
"Hey, Tema?"  
She brought her green eyes up to meet Kankuro's and smiled.  
"What's up, Kurō?"  
"Can we talk for a seccy?"  
"Yeah, sure," she got up and followed him out of the Canteen.  
The two of them found a spot on the artificial grass. The school grounds were vast, but dreary. The groundsmen had added in some greenery to liven it up, which simplified their job on a drastic level.  
"So, what was it?" Temari asked, smoothing her uniform skirt over her crossed legs.  
"Have you noticed a certain person acting... Strange lately?"  
Temari shrugged, she hadn't been paying much attention to most people after the 'make out incident' out of sheer mortification.  
"Who?" She asked, glancing sideways at her brother, who sighed dramatically and lay down on the ground, closing his eyes.  
"Gaara's been avoiding us. Don't you think?"  
She thought about it for a second before shaking her head.  
"He isn't avoiding us, he's just spending more time with Naruto. You should be happy for him."  
"I am, Tema, I really am, but he's distancing himself from us... I don't like it."  
"The Naruto kid makes him happy though. I think Gaara likes him."  
"Of course Gaara likes him, they're friends."  
"Not like that, baka. I think he has a crush on him."  
Kankurō shot up from his position.  
"WHAT?!"  
"Kurō, don't play dumb. Even the idiot kids know he's gay."  
"I-I thought those were just rumours," Kankurō mumbled.  
"So what if he is? Gay, that is," she added "His sexuality doesn't change the fact that he is still our little brother that we love and care for. Who cares who he chooses to love?"  
Kankurō shook his head.  
"I know that sis, seriously. I'm not homophobic, but can you give me a second to process this?"  
"There isn't anything to process. He's still the same person he was yesterday. And three years ago. If it weren't for that Naruto kid, we probably wouldn't have been able to get this close to him. We owe him a lot, and I seriously think they could hit it off."  
"What if the other kid isn't gay?"  
Temari shrugged.  
"I don't think that will be a problem," she pointed ahead of them to a pair of boys who were sitting near a hedge about thirty metres away. One had bright red hair, the other was blond. The blond had dropped his head on the other boy's shoulder and was completely absorbed in their conversation. Neither of the boys noticed that two other people were also outside.  
Their fingers were intertwined.  
Kankurō looked shocked for a moment before smiling softly, a rare sight in Temari's eyes.  
" Let's head back in, Kurō."  
"Yeah,"  
As they headed back inside, they passed by the skin y blonde, Ino, who was frantically pulling a disgruntled Nara along with her. Temari didn't ask where they were going, but she couldn't help but be curious. She shrugged it off. It was none of her business anyways.

OoOoO

"Ino, let go!"  
"Nope!" The blonde giggled. "We need to talk. In private."  
She pulled them into an empty classroom and pulled the door in behind them.  
"So," she looked at the dark haired boy with knowing eyes before smiling widely.  
"When did you figure out you liked her?"  
Shikamaru was taken aback by her sudden question. He scowled at the blonde.  
"I have no idea what you're on about Ino, why did you drag me all the way out here for something so stupidly troublesome?"  
Ino shook her head with a look of mock sorrow and sat down on the teacher's desk.  
"Shikamaru Nara, I know you like Temari."  
"No I don't," he snapped, trying his best to seem calm. "Can I go now?"  
Ino only smirked at him and began speaking again.  
"I know you like her, you can't lie to me about these things."  
Shikamaru rolled is eyes and stalked out of the room, ignoring the panic that was building up inside him. Was it really that obvious?

Dinner that night was the same as always, mumbles from Gaara and Naruto, yells from Kiba and Kankurō and silence between Temari and Shikamaru. This time however, Shikamaru couldn't help but notice how Kankurō kept on glancing at Naruto and Temari looked happier. He figured that she and Daimaru were having fun again earlier on...  
He pushed aside the thought and headed up to bed earlier than the others.  
For some reason, he couldn't sleep, he kept on trying to get comfortable, but for some reason nothing worked. He gave up at one a.m. And just sat up, looking at the Llama hedge on his bedside table.  
"Elliot," he mumbled, after an hour of staring at it. "I'm screwed."  
He was about to continue when he heard a loud yell echo through the household. Well, it wasn't loud, but considering the time and the silence, it seemed loud.  
He knew the others would be asleep at this time. Kiba and Naruto wouldn't be woken up without violence and bribes, and Kankurō seemed to be the same. That left Gaara and Temari...  
He was about to ignore it when he heard a sob, more silent this time, and a door opening.  
He was more than just a little curious, he'll admit, when he opened his door a crack and peeked out.  
The two closest doors on the opposite side of the hall were open. Gaara's and Temari's.  
Temari's room was empty. Shikamaru shuffled quietly out of his room and stopped outside of Gaara's room were the sobbing was coming from. When he got closer, he glanced inside and saw a crying Gaara clutching at his older sister, who stroked his head and soothed him.  
The boy was wearing fluffy sand coloured pyjamas and Temari wore a simple t-shirt and a pair of shorts, strange considering how cold the nights could get.  
She held her little brother close and swayed slightly from side to side with him wrapped up in her arms.  
"Don't worry, Gaara." She whispered. "It's all fine"  
The boy's sobbing quietened a bit.  
"I'm s-sorry Tem-Mari..."  
"Shhh, Gaara you've done nothing wrong," she whispered gently, looking down at his face and brushing some of his hair out of his dampened eyes. "Okay? Nothing was your fault."  
"B-but, I killed mum..."  
"Gaara, I'll hear none of it. You didn't kill her."  
"But it's my fault dad h-hates us..."  
Temari stiffened and held the boy at arm's length, not breaking eye contact.  
"That's not true Gaara. Father 'Dearest' hates us because he's a prick. Not because of you."  
"But if mum were her-"  
"If mum were here, you never would have met Naruto, Gaara. Things happen, that's the way life is. Some things are good, others are bad. We just need to live with it and work with what we've been given."  
The redhead gulped and nodded. Temari hugged him again and gave him a peck on the forehead.  
"Temari, I'm sorry for what dad did to you."  
Temari shook her head.  
"It's not you who needs to be sorry for that." Temari muttered before standing up. Shikamaru took that as his cue to go back to his room.  
Once inside, he strained his ears in an attempt to catch what Temari was saying.  
"Gaara, I'm glad you have Naruto."  
He climbed into bed as quietly as he could and looked at Elliot again.  
He smiled, so the girl did have a soft side to her


	9. Chapter 9 Nicknames

_**A/N: One more *woohooooo* I honestly just base most of the stuff that's happening in this story on personal experience, but you know, I'm not hot like either Shikamaru or Temari, so all of it is a little less exciting.**_

 _ **A small note: I apologise for making Temari bi, if you don't think she is, but honestly, it makes it easier to write from experience, because I go to an all girl's school, and girls are HOT. But some guys are okay too. Please bear with me, don't worry her one and only true love will always be Shikamaru.**_

 _ **Another small note: Thank you very much, whattadargg for explaining how to fix the awkward paragraph thing that my recent chapters were doing, I'll update them once I find my misplaced motivation, they're probably unpleasant to read and all.**_

 _ **AAANNNNYYYYWAYS, let's get on with this chapter. As always, please Follow/Fave/ Review etc :)**_

 _ **And Naruto still isn't mine...**_

 _ **Nicknames**_

"SHIKAMARUUUUUU!"

"Ino, I'm right beside you, please stop yelling."

"Oh, quit over reacting Shika..." She pouted.

The lazy boy sighed.

"What do you want, Ino?"

" _Weeeelllllllll_ ," she began, " we - that is to say Tenten, Matsuri, Yukata and I - were wondering if you could maybe..."

"Get on with it Ino,"

"Convince Temari-Chan to buy alcohol for the Halloween party?"

Shikamaru processed this thought for a moment.

"No,"

"Awww, but _why?_ "

"We don't talk, first of all, as well as that, you four are too young. The drinking age in Suna is eighteen, you're only fifteen. Except Yukata and Matsuri, who I'm pretty sure haven't turned eighteen yet."

"But this is our chance to have some fun!" Ino whined, " please Shika, _pleeease?"_

"No, ask her yourself," And with that, he left Ino at their table in the canteen to look for an empty classroom so that he could finish writing his speech for the debate. The topic that he'd chosen was about the death penalty. It seemed easier than the others.

As he passed by each classroom, he'd glance in through the glass pane to check if there were any teachers or students. As he passed by the geography classroom, he looked in only to see Temari leaning back on one of the chairs, her head arched back behind her. She seemed completely at ease. Her headphones were in her ears and a tiny smile played at her lips as one of her feet tapped out the rhythm of whatever song she was listening to.

He watched her silently before hesitantly wrapping his fingers around the door handle and pulling it down. He stepped into the room.

"Ah, you show up at last," came Temari's voice.

Shikamaru froze in the doorway. Had she been waiting for him?

"You seriously know how to keep a girl waiting."

Shikamaru didn't know what to do.

"Em..."

"Just sit down before I consider breaking up with you, Daim."

Shikamaru tensed up. So she hadn't even realised it was him.

"Actually, it's Shikamaru."

Temari's eyes shot open.

"Shit, sorry Nara, I thought you were Daimaru, he was meant to meet me here..."

Shikamaru thought about it for a moment. What if he were Daimaru? Temari's boyfriend? He pushed the thought out of his head and took a seat a row apart from the blonde object of his dreams.

"It's fine. Why were you guys meeting here of all places?" come to think of it, he hadn't seen them in the canteen at all lately...

Temari blushed.

"J-just project work."

"Temari. I have all the same classes as you."

She glared at him.

"You know full well what we're up to. Do you _really_ want to hear the details? Cos I'll spill them. Sometimes he kisses m-"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh woman, I was just curious." It was Shikamaru's turn to blush.  
She laughed.

"Innocent. How cute..." She didn't look him in the eye, but focussed her attention on the whiteboard, where the previous teacher hadn't bothered removing the writing so the homework assignment was still written on it.

Shikamaru tried another conversation topic.

"How long have you been waiting?"

Her eyes flicked over to the watch on her wrist.

"Twenty minutes."

"Why did you threaten to break up with him when you like him?"

She looked at him now.

"Ever heard of humour, Nara?" She snapped. "Besides, maybe I don't like him, how would you know?"

Shikamaru was taken aback by her answer.

"Why would you date someone you don't like?"

She chuckled.

"Even more innocent than I thought..." She frowned as she thought of how to answer his question. "He asked me out so I just said yes. I'd just broken up with my previous boyfriend because the prick cheated on me so I wanted someone to fill the void. Daimaru was the first one to ask. It could just as easily have been someone else." She shrugged as she considered her last sentence.

"That said, I'm glad it was Daimaru. Because I do like him. A lot. He's nice and we get on. And I know he likes me. What more could I ask for?"

Shikamaru couldn't help but feel more than just a little disappointed that she liked Daimaru. He had even less of a chance now than before, not that he had much of one to begin with.

"How about you, Nara?"

"W-what?"

"What are you doing here?"

"O-oh. That. I just needed somewhere quiet to finish writing the speech. For the debate."

Temari nodded slowly.

"That's good. Hand it to me once you've finished it, okay?"

"Sure,"

They sat in silence for a short while before the door swung open.

"Sorry, Tema, I had to help Baki-Sensei with somethi... Shikamaru kun?"

"I'll leave," Shikamaru said, hurriedly getting to his feet and leaving the two alone.

He'd called her "Tema". Shikamaru felt an envious feeling twisting inside him, but he pushed it aside and continued down the corridors to find an empty classroom.

OoOoO

"TEMARIIIIIIIII-CHAAAAAN!"

"I-Ino-Chan, what is it?"

"We want you to come shopping with us!" The slim girl exclaimed, pointing at the three girls who were gathered behind her, looking expectantly at her.

Temari almost refused, but she then saw Tenten's pleading eyes and she practically melted on the inside.

 _Damn that girl was cute..._

"S-sure," she gulped, "I'll go..."

"YAY!"

...

"Temari-Chan, you should _SO_ try this on!"

"Ino, you should _SO_ drop the honorific. So many unnecessary syllables..."

"OMG! LIKE, CAN I GIVE YOU A NICKNAME TOO?!"

"Sur-wait what?"

"MARI!" Ino squealed, "How cute is that?!"

Good god, the girl was like a walking-talking exclamation mark.

"Sure, whatever you want, Ino."

"So, Mari, will you try it on?"

Ino held up the scrap of fabric that apparently constituted as clothing in the modern society.

"Um..." Said Temari, " Lemme think abou-No."

Ino pouted,

"But Mariiiii," she whined, "You'd look so hot in it..."

"I look hot without having to reveal all my skin, thank you very much."

"But what will you wear to the party then?"

Temari shrugged.

"T-shirt and jeans, why?"

Ino gasped and dramatically brought a manicured hand to her mouth as though Temari had just said the most scandalous thing.

"It's a Halloween party, not a study session, you _have_ to dress up!"

"Ino, no offence, but I'd hardly consider wearing what you're holding in your hand to be dressed at all."

"Well then try something else, just don't go dressed like yourself, you have to go as something scary or slutty. It's a Halloween rule, but for us girls, the latter is favourable."

Ino skipped off to join Matsuri in her search for the 'perfect' mini skirt to go with her top (which Temari had originally thought was just a bra).

Temari sighed and scanned a few of the railings, looking for something to satisfy Ino with. Her eyes settled on a floaty white halter-neck dress. It was very low cut and it went down to mid-thigh. It was tightened around the middle and the moment she saw it, she knew what she was going to dress as.

She found her size and went to look for the changing rooms.

She stepped out and smirked at Ino's jaw which had dropped to the floor.

"OMG YOU LOOK AMAZING!" Ino gasped, taking in her figure. "Shikamaru's totally gonna get a nosebleed!"

"What?!" Demanded Temari. What the hell was she going on about? Shikamaru wouldn't notice a girl's cleavage, would he? He was like, five years old. And probably gay considering how negatively he thought of girls. _What a waste..._

"Nothing, nothing," Ino reassured her, smiling knowingly. "You might actually inspire him to stop thinking girls are a waste of time though when he sees you dressed like that."

Temari looked at her reflection in the full length mirror to her right, and she had to admit that she did look good. She was the type of girl who always feigned confidence when it came to her appearance, but in reality, she sometimes felt a bit self-conscious. She wasn't skinny like Ino, but she didn't exactly fit into the 'Curvy' either.

She had toned legs and a flat stomach, but she also had a reasonably large bust, something she hated. This dress however, really brought out the good in all her attributes she'd considered as flaws.

Ino found a pair of white strap on sandals with a small heel on them, saying that she didn't want Temari to fall at her party, and they completed the look.

"Maybe instead of Mari I should call you Marilyn," the blonde joked as Temari payed for her outfit.

Temari laughed and grinned a little to herself. These Konoha kids weren't half bad.


	10. Chapter 10 Drama Llama

_**A/N: Ooooh dramallamas *alert*.**_

 _ **Before you read thus chapter: Right so I already mentioned that I based a lot of this story on things that I've experienced, and the "piano room" that features in this chapter is literally based on a room where my friend and I used to hang out. No kidding.**_

 _ **Also, Amefist: Thank you so much for your lovely comment, it honestly made me so happy to know that you like my story, and I also may or may not have read the fan fiction that you're writing and I *love* it so please continue! Also thanks for praising my grammar, English isn't my first language, so it's really rewarding to know that it doesn't show too obviously in writing.**_

 _ **Right. That's it. Please enjoy! Next chapter the party will start, I'm just building it up a lil more in this one.**_

 _ **Drama Llama**_

"So,"

"So,"

"..."

"..."

"What are you dressing up as tomorrow?"

"I don't know, you?"

"Dunno."

"..."

"..."

This was probably the most amount of words Shikamaru had ever exchanged with Kankurō, and he felt awkward for bringing up the costume topic. Deciding it would be best if he left, he stood from the canteen table that their group always sat at and made his way outside for some fresh air.

"SHIKAMARUUUUU!"

He groaned.

"Yes, Ino?"

"Do you know what you're wearing tomorrow?"

"N-Yeah. I do," Shikamaru said hurriedly, afraid that the blonde would come up with something crazy for him to wear. Dressing in drag was the last thing on his to-do-list.

"Do you really?" Ino frowned, surprised by his answer. "It had better be good, Shika. Temari looks super hot, you wouldn't want her not noticing you now, would you?"

Shikamaru stumbled.

"Ino, I don't care what that troublesome woman thinks..." He grumbled.

"Suuuurre," Ino grinned, narrowing her eyes at the now-blushing Shikamaru.

"Look, Ino, I know you think I like her, but I seriously don't so can you please just drop it?"

Ino shrugged and walked beside him.

"So what are you going as?"

"You'll see,"

"..."

"..."

"Shika?"

"Hn?"

"You know I wouldn't judge you if you did like her, right?"

"Oh for the love of _God_! I DON'T LIKE HER!"

"Sshhh, I'm just saying," Ino insisted, "if you want advice, I'm here. I found out a few things about her from Daimaru..."

"Blackmail or seduction this time?"

"Seduction of course," she grinned.

"Why are you like this?" Shikamaru sighed, not wanting an answer from her.

"I'd do anything to help my friend get the girl of his drea- Shika!"

Shikamaru accelerated ahead of her and turned left, passing through a corridor instead of outside.

He nearly ran into a figure that was up against a wall. It took him a brief moment to realise that the figure was Daimaru, or rather, Daimaru attached to an angry Temari.

"GO _AWAY,_ DAIMARU!"

"Tema, I'm so sorry I didn't mea-"

" _BULLSHIT_!"

She turned away from him and pulled her arm from his grasp, almost running into Shikamaru, whom she hadn't noticed standing there.

She glanced at him briefly before lowering her eyes and storming past him.

Shikamaru looked at Daimaru.

"What happened dude?"

"The blonde chick from your school tried to kiss me. Temari came in at the wrong time. Ino-san was asking about Temari, so I told her so she'd leave me alone, but she kept on asking and coming closer to me... Temari took it the wrong way."

 _Ino..._

Shikamaru gulped. This was bad.

"Just explain it to her," he suggested.

"I tried, I really did," Daimaru cried, " But she won't hear me out. I really like her. I have for a long time, I don't want to lose her..."

"Look, Daimaru-san, let me try to talk to her, okay?"

Daimaru nodded and Shikamaru set off in the direction that Temari had gone in.

He liked her, but she liked Daimaru. He didn't want her to break up with him for the wrong reasons and hastily get into another relationship with someone who she didn't even like. Besides, Daimaru was nice, and he treated her well.

As he walked past the Geography class, he saw her.

She was leaning back in the same chair he'd seen her in before, her earphones weren't place, and she wasn't smiling this time. She was looking straight ahead of her at something that Shikamaru couldn't see through the narrow window. Her mouth opened, and Shikamaru heard her muffled voice from the other side of the door.

An answer came.

He gripped the door handle and pushed it open, startling Temari and the person she'd been speaking to.

"Nara," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

He looked at the other person in the room. He recognised the man, he'd seen him at the airport when they'd arrived from Konoha.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"Nara Shikamaru," he answered in his signature drawl.

"This is my pen pal," Temari explained. "Nara, this is the exchange coordinator, he was just asking me how the _wonderful_ exchange was going. I was just telling him how splendid you and all your _friends_ are."

He could almost physically feel the sarcasm that was coating her words.

Shikamaru couldn't tell whether Temari seemed more annoyed at him or the coordinator.

"Boyfriend problems?" The coordinator asked, ruffling his own hair.

Temari stiffened and glared at him.

"Bingo," the silver haired man chuckled, pulling over a chair to sit opposite Temari.

"Y'know babe," he said, causing Shikamaru to tense up. "You seem a bit mature to be spending time with little kids. You should spend some time with a _real_ man, if you really want some fun."

The man licked his lips and ran his eyes all over Temari, taking in her open buttoned shirt and her skirt that had hitched up a bit from her seated position.

"Sorry, Hidan." She said, rolling her eyes. " I have a boyfriend already, and I'm perfectly happy with him. There was just a minor hitch in our relationship. Nothing major,"

And with that, she stood up and put her arm on Shikamaru's shoulder, marching him out of the room.

"Thanks for showing up," she mumbled,  
"That perv terrifies me."

Shikamaru laughed.

"You didn't seem like the kind of person who'd be scared by anything to be honest."

Temari shrugged and shuffled on, her pace matching his.

"So," Shikamaru began. "Care to tell me what happened back there?"

"With Daimaru?"

"Yeah,"

Temari took a deep breath and rubbed her temples in slow circular motions.

"Can we not talk about it in the corridors?"

"Sure, where do you want to go?"

"Follow me,"

Temari led him up two flights of stairs and into a dimly lit corridor with doors on either side. At the end of the corridor was an old couch that was falling apart, and beside that was a metal cabinet with an empty white plant pot on top of it.

Shikamaru had seen a lot of strange things in this school, but this was by far the strangest.

Temari reached into the pot and took out a key with a large faded leather key ring attached to it. She reached over and unlocked the closest door and walked inside with Shikamaru close behind.

Inside the room was a wooden stand up piano, a large cabinet and (not even joking) a sink. There were stools near the walls and the grass-green paint was chipped and faded.

"What is this place?" Shikamaru couldn't help but ask.

Temari shrugged.

"An ex of mine showed me it a couple of years back. I like to come here every so often. Play the piano or whatever."

She dropped herself down on the piano bench and leaned against it, causing a few of the notes to ring out. Shikamaru turned one if the taps at the sink. It was rusted, and no water poured from it.

"So," he asked, seating himself opposite her. "Talk to me."

Temari smirked at him and leaned forward, propping her elbows up on her knees and resting her chin in her hands.

"I was looking for Daimaru when I found him up against a wall, being spoken to by an uncomfortably close Ino." She said, not looking away from his eyes. "Daimaru was blushing like mad and stuttering, and he didn't seem to be struggling all that much against her. It pissed me off, so I stormed away, loudly enough for him to know I'd seen what had happened. He chased after me a half hour later, I wasn't ready to talk about it. That's it."

Shikamaru sighed.

"So you're not breaking up with him?"

"No, why?" She asked, before breaking into a wicked smile that suited her so terrifyingly well. "Are we _jealous,_ Nara?"

Shikamaru turned away.

"N-no, but he was worried. He really likes you, it would be a pity if you broke up with him for the wrong reasons, especially considering you like him."

Temari nodded slowly.

"You're right."

They stayed like that for a while before Shikamaru spoke up again.

"Ino doesn't like him, so don't worry about her. I'll talk to her so that she doesn't try anything like this again. Okay?"

Temari smiled.

"Thanks, that'd be nice. I'll talk to her too."

Shikamaru gulped at the idea of the two blondes confronting each other.

When the bell rang, Temari got up from the bench and straightened out her skirt, reaching out a hand for Shikamaru. He took it, even though he didn't need help getting up, and he couldn't help but be surprised by how delicate her hand felt in his own.

"Thanks Nara, talking helped." She said gently.

"You can stop calling me that, you know."

She smiled and locked the door after they stepped out of the room.

"Thank you, Shikamaru," she smirked, returning the key to the pot on the cabinet.

Hearing his name on her lips made Shikamaru's belly do flip-flops against his will and he turned his head away to conceal the blush that was creeping up his face.

 _'Why am I so damn weak?'_ He internally screamed at himself. _'And why the hell did I just fix her relationship?!'_

OoOoO

"Ino?"

"Yes, Mari?"

" I have a question," Temari said, pronouncing each word very carefully, and slowly edging closer to the shivering blonde.

"What, in the wide world of pixelated _fuck,_ were you doing with my boyfriend earlier on?"

Ino twitched and the colour drained from her face.

"L-let me explain, Mari..." She stammered.

"Mm, that's exactly what I'm waiting for you to do, Ino," Temari said, her cold voice contrasting with her sweet smile that she'd plastered to her face.

Ino explained that she was only asking for information about her.

"Why?" Temari asked, frowning.

"You don't talk to us, Mari. I won't tell anyone about what he said. I swear."

Temari sighed and brought her hand up to her forehead.

"What did he tell you?"

"He told me more about your family than about you."

Temari froze, she only talked about her family issues once with Daimaru when she was upset (and more than just a _little_ drunk)

" Ino, I don't know how much he told you, or what you understood of it, but you can't tell anyone. Got it?"

Ino nodded and Temari walked away.

When Temari returned home, she flopped face down onto her bed. There wasn't much homework for her to do because they were on their midterm, meaning that the work wasn't due for another week.

She sighed, her head was hurting from the amount of emotions she was experiencing.

She was angry at Ino for getting information about her from Daimaru, and disappointed in Daimaru for giving it to her. She was upset at herself for reacting so stubbornly when he confronted her and pissed off at Hidan for existing.

"And...?" Said a little voice at the very back of her head.

She smiled a little. Curious about the Nara. He had been the one to chase after her. Not Daimaru. Nara had talked it out with her and suggested a solution.

Shikamaru Nara cheered her up.

He was such a strange kid.

"TEMARIIIIIIIII!"

Kankurō's voice echoed through the Sabaku residence.

"YEAH?!"

"SOME FRIENDS ARE AT THE DOOR!"

She sighed, one of the girls probably wanted to talk about the party tomorrow. Temari had done her best not to get involved with any of the planning or invitations, but of course they wanted to talk to her about it.  
 _How troubleso- wait. What?_

"JUST LET THEM IN!"

A few moments later there came a knock from the other side of her door and she answered only to be face to face with Yukata, Matsuri, Tenten and Ino.

"Um... Hi?" She said, before they pushed into her room, giggling and clutching massive duffel bags and makeup boxes.

"We're staying over tonight!" Matsuri declared, setting her belongings down in the floor.

Temari was too shocked to protest as the four girls began opening their sacks and taking out sleeping bags and pyjamas.

"Temari - Chan?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Can I do your make up please?" Tenten asked, laying out a palette in front of her.

"NO WAY."

"Aw, please?" Tenten begged, pouting a little. "I don't wear makeup myself, but i like putting it on other people. Though I'm not that good. I won't put too much on, I swear."

Temari eventually got over the shock of having her room invaded by a flock of girly girls and allowed them to do whatever they wanted-in moderation.

No way in hell was she going to watch Titanic.

After a few hours of being painted up by Tenten and Matsuri, she settled in and let herself fall asleep before the others.

She had a feeling that the next day would be a long one...


	11. Chapter 11- Hair Ties

_**A/N: Righteo, so this is the first chapter of the Halloween Party, I hope you enjoy it. Please Review! Or follow! Or Favourite!**_

 _ **It's getting a bit more interesting after this point, I swear.**_

 _ **Naruto is still not mine, just in case you thought I owned the franchise or something.**_

 _ **Anyway, please leave a review if you can, or even if you can't... I know where you live...**_

 _ **No pressure😊 I really do hope you like this chapter though, part two should be up soon.**_

 _ **OOOOH, ALSO. I have decided to start "dedicating" these chapters to people. This sounds stupid, but please bear with me. I wouldn't still be writing this if no one liked it, so each of these chapters will be dedicated to someone who reads it. Make sense? So for this one, I'm dedicating it to Tuffin, cos your name is absolutely adorable and thank you so much for favouriting my story, it's super encouraging:)**_

Hair Ties

Shikamaru groaned as the door to his bedroom creaked open.

"Too...early..." He grunted. "No...school..."

"Shut up, you Lazy-Ass!" Temari whispered.

His eyes shot open.

"T-Temari what are you-?"

"Ssh, I need to sleep and all the other girls are being too loud. Now let me sleep!"

She dropped her sleeping bag on the floor and curled up inside it, falling asleep almost instantly.

Shikamaru stared for a while at her sleeping form before shrugging and turning his back to where she lay and dozing off himself.

.

"WAKE UP!"

Shikamaru grumbled and rolled over to find Temari standing over him, fully dressed with her arms crossed below her chest.

"What is it, you troublesome woman?"

She raised her eyebrow at the name he'd given her, but didn't give out to him about it.

"Everyone's awake, it's two in the afternoon, I figured I should wake you up too."

He groaned and sat up, only half aware that he wasn't wearing a shirt, as his blankets were warm enough for the night-time.

Temari stared at his chest for a split second before spinning on her heel and leaving the room, calling over her shoulder.

"You missed breakfast and lunch, you'll have to wait for the party to eat."

Shikamaru practically jumped out of bed-he'd completely forgotten about the damned party, and Ino would kill him if he didn't have a costume, especially since he'd insisted that he knew what he was going to dress as.

He slipped on a grey top and shuffled down the stairs. He realised he hadn't bothered taking his hair tie out the previous night and simply tightened it as he walked.

"SHIKA!"

He froze. Why the hell was Ino standing in the sitting room coated in glitter?

"Hi, Ino," he yawned, deciding he didn't actually care.

Ino pouted and walked over to him, holding a bat garland and tugging on his arm.

"Shika, I'm not able to reach the lights, could you please give me a boost?"

"Nope,". Shikamaru left the room, he didn't want to get involved with any preparations for the party at all.

At three, the girls went up to "get ready" for the party which made Shikamaru roll his eyes. The party wasn't for another four and a half hours.

Temari was the only one who didn't skip up the stairs with them.

She shrugged when they asked her to join them.

"I'll come up at six."

Kankurō left at half five with Kiba to buy more food for the party, and Gaara and Naruto had been gone for most of the day, Kami knows where.

Shikamaru spent a half hour alone with Temari. There was an awkward silence at the beginning, which Shikamaru tried to break with a few questions, none of which struck up much of a conversation.

"Do you play chess?" He asked eventually, noticing a small board on one of the shelves.

Temari nodded.

"I haven't played in ages, but I remember being pretty good," she explained, reaching for it and laying it on the table in front of them.

Four lost games later, she headed up the stairs sulking.

Shikamaru sighed and decided to go to his own room to find something to wear. On his way up, he got and idea and sent a quick text to Kiba, who was still at the shops with Kankurō.

Once in his room, he retied his hair and pulled on a plain black t-shirt and black trousers. As he left his room, the door across from his own opened and Temari stepped out, holding a pair of sandals and a paper bag in one hand and a hairbrush in the other.

She looked up at him and smiled awkwardly before rushing into the bathroom.

"Mari come baaack!" Came a call from the room.

"Please let us do your makeup!" Came another.

Shikamaru chuckled to himself. Girls really were troublesome.

OoOoOoO

Temari locked the bathroom door behind her and exhaled deeply. She'd narrowly escaped an extreme makeover.

She quickly threw on her dress and shoes and hesitated as she stood before the mirror. She wasn't sure wether she should let her hair down ir not.

The person she was dressing as didn't wear pigtails, sure, but she wasn't entirely comfortable with her hair when it wasn't up either.

She decided against taking out her hair ties and instead combed the hair that they held.

By the time she was finished, it was already half seven and she could hear some of the guests that had arrived early or on time.

She took an eyeliner out from the cabinet and put a very small amount of it on. She didn't trust herself to even out any winged effects she would try, and her eyelashes were already fairly dark, so she only followed her water line with a thin even trace.

She was about to put the eyeliner away when she remembered something.

Leaning forward closer to her reflection, she drew a dark dot above her lip and smiled at her finished look, satisfied that it was clear who she was dressed as.

She slipped the sandals on her feet and made her way downstairs.

"TEMARIIIIIIIII!"

"Hi, Ino," she smiled, cocking her head to the side and waving at the blonde who had dressed as a nurse-or rather, a slutty nurse.

"YOU LOOK GREAT!"

"Thanks, you too."

It wasn't a lie. Ino had a great body, and she had every right to show it off, even though Temari would have personally felt uncomfortable if she were that exposed to the eyes of others.

"Hi Temari!" Tenten waved from the corner of the room where she worked at a laptop, making up a playlist and attaching speakers to the audio jack.

"Have you any song requests?"

Temari smiled.

"Yeah, I have one."

Temari added a song to the playlist before waving goodbye to Tenten, who was dressed as an Amazon.

Yukata and Matsuri were giggling as a few boys glanced in their direction. They were dressed as a cat and a cheerleader respectively.

Temari glanced around her living room at the people who had gathered. It was still early but there were already over forty guests there.

She walked back over to Ino and asked her how many people she'd invited.

The platinum blonde shrugged.

"Everyone?"

Temari rolled her eyes and made her way to the kitchen, deciding to grab a drink before socialising.

She was about to go back into the living room when Shikamaru rushed into the kitchen holding a pen and some paper.

He looked at Temari and froze.

Suddenly self conscious about how much skin she was showing, she crossed her arms and stepped further away from him.

She noticed he was blushing a little bit and she was embarrassed at herself. Why? She didn't know.

"Y-you look... Good," the boy stammered eventually.

She raised an eyebrow.

"You hesitated."

"No, I didn't. I was just choosing the right words. You really do. Look good, that is."

She pushed aside her embarrassment and smirked at him.

"Yeah, I know." She said, "How come you're in here? And without a costume?"

He held up the sheet of paper and sellotaped it to his chest. It had the word "life" written on it in big bold letters.

"I was just wondering if you had any lemons?"

OoOoOoO

When Shikamaru left the kitchen, he was still blushing. He was holding a basket of lemons under his arm and Temari could still be heard laughing in the kitchen.

More people had arrived, and the noise levels were too high to be considered 'bearable' but Shikamaru didn't want to miss the party, knowing full well that Ino would probably hunt him down if he even tried.

How troublesome...

"Oi, lazy ass,"

Shikamaru turned to see Temari following him out of the kitchen, still laughing a little bit.

"Hn?" He asked.

"It's a good costume."

He smiled a little.

"You too. But the hair is wrong."

Temari scowled at him.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Shikamaru shrugged.

"Marilyn Monroe kept her hair down."

They had walked through the party and were in the slightly emptier hallway, where the music wasn't as loud.

"I'm not taking my hair down."

"Why not?" Shikamaru was more than just a little curious as to how her hair looked when it was down.

Temari rolled her eyes.

"I just down like it down,"

In a sudden fit of boldness, Shikamaru stepped closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her walking.

She looked up at him with a single raised eyebrow.

With his other hand, he reached up and took out one of her pigtails. And then another. And another.

"Nara," came her voice.

Shikamaru didn't answer. He was reaching for her fourth pigtail.

"Nara,"

He let her hair down and twined a strand of it between his fingers.

"Nara,"

He looked at her eyes now, her eyes that were avoiding his.

God they were pretty. He couldn't decide wether they were teal or green.

Her blush made their vibrant colour stand out even more.

Wait, why was she blushing?

"Nara..." It was a whisper now.

"Stop calling me that." He was so close he could almost feel her breath.

She looked at him at last.

"Don't touch my fucking hair." She snapped, grabbing the hair ties from him and storming up the stairs to the bathroom, audibly slamming the door behind her.

Shikamaru felt a weight drop in his stomach. They had been so close. He could have just leaned in and...

He shook his head. He couldn't do that, she was in a relationship.  
And older than him by three years.  
And out of his league.  
And from another country.  
And troublesome...

He sighed and turned back into the sitting room where the party was in full swing, hoping that he didn't ruin everything.

OoOoOoO

Temari leaned against the bathroom door breathing heavily.

What was that just now?

" _Nonononononono you weren't flustered. Not at all. When were you ever flustered? Never. That's right. You never blush. Ever. You were just...uncomfortable. Yeah. That's it. You felt uncomfortable that he was so close to you. I mean, he's fifteen for crying out loud. FIFTEEN! One and five. Gaara's age three years younger than you. And he isn't your type. Nonononono. Not at all. He's completely unattractive with his stupid ponytail and scrawny frame and straight nose and those deep eyes... And those strange earrings. Those stupid dumb earings that really aren't hot or attractive at all on a guy like him. Nope, nope, nope. Stupid stupid. Why are you still thinking about how you felt his breath on you. How close you were... How you could have just leaned forward slightly. Just a little. And..."_

Temari checked her face in the mirror to make sure that she wasn't still red, and straightened out her dress.

She opened the bathroom door and forced all thoughts of Nara Shikamaru out of her head.

Not that they were strange thoughts. Oh nonono.

She went down and saw him across the room, giving a lemon to someone who had come up to talk to him.

He glanced up briefly at her and looked away.

She sighed and heard her name being called from behind her.

"Oh, hey Daim..." She mumbled before he kissed her and told her she looked gorgeous.

She couldn't help but glance at Shikamaru once more, only to find him glaring in her general direction.

Life was seriously giving her lemons.f


	12. Chapter 12 Mr Brightside

_**A/N: Okie! Next chapter! I was hoping to post this chapter a couple of days ago, but I got carried away whilst studying for a chem test, I'm honestly dreading the results though(•-•)**_

 _ **Also, a question I got from a couple of you: "Did Temari keep her hair down?" Nope, she tied it up again. Sorry for not Making that clear. So there you go!**_

 _ **Anyways, Naruto isn't mine, nor is Mr. Brightside by the killers. Though I do have their album which I was listening to as I wrote this a while back.**_

 _ **So, this chapter is dedicated toooo...*drumrollllll*... imafangirlforever ! Yay! Thanks for the favourite man, it means a lot! :)**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 **Mr. Brightside**

Shikamaru was genuinely considering leaving the party, but anytime he came even a few feet near the door, a giggling Ino would show up and whisk him away, accompanied each time by a different gaping boy.

He would occasionally glance over to where Temari was seated with Daimaru on the couch and internally kick himself for it.

At around eleven o'clock, Shikamaru was getting seriously tired of loud shop-music and exposed skin everywhere he looked. He was going to slip out of room, so he checked to see where Ino was.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her at the other end of the room, having an animated discussion with-wait, Sai?

He shook his head and focussed on the door. He would ask Ino about it tomorrow. If he was bothered.

"Hey, you're new right?"

He was shocked to see someone looking at him and talking. Not only that, but it was a girl.

She was one of the only ones who was somewhat modest in her appearance and he nodded as a reply.

"Exchange," he explained in as few syllables as he could get away with.

The girl nodded and leaned against the wall, sipping at her lemonade through a straw.

"Who's your exchange partner?" She asked, fixing the strange hat she was wearing on her red hair.

"T-Temari, Sabaku no Temari."

The girl's eyes darkened.

"Oh? Poor you..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's certainly odd. Her entire family is twisted. You could always just ask to swap partner if you'd like?" She leaned into him teasingly and laughed as he shuffled back, almost bumping into a guy in a batman costume from Temari's year.

"Why do you say that?"

"Her mother is dead, their upbringing must be lacking, their dad is a psycho, I've only heard bad things about him from my cousin, she works for him. Also, her faggot of a little brother is a freak!"

Shikamaru tensed at the term she'd used to describe Gaara. This girl was turning out to be a total bitch.

"And that slut Temari," she began, jerking her head in Temari's direction and smiling deviously at him over the top of her glass. "Maybe if she stopped messing around with boys and stopped being such a little whore, she'd be more likeable, but..." She shrugged as though she were describing a hopeless case. "Guess we can't be _too_ hopeful, eh?"

Shikamaru wanted to hit her. Punching a girl was wrong, he knew, so he wouldn't, but in that moment he really wished he wasn't raised to be a gentleman.

"Don't say that," he said snapped. "She'll probably beat you up for saying such rubbish."

The red head giggled.

"You sure know her well!" She exclaimed and held out her hand. "I'm Tayuya by the way, lets get on!"

Shikamaru glared at her hand and walked past her.

"I have no intention of getting on with a bitch like you."

He heard her gasp at what he'd said but he ignored her and went through the door.

 _Free at last!_

He swiftly climbed up to his room, placed his basket of lemons on the bedside table and climbed into bed, not bothering to untie his hair or change out of his clothes.

A knock on the door startled him. He groaned and got up to open it, he'd only been in his room thirty seconds.

OoOoOoO

He opened the door and Temari sighed out of relief, she thought he'd have fallen asleep already, which wouldn't have been surprising considering how tired he looked.

"Hey,"

"Hey,"

"Um... I'm sorry for lashing out earlier on." Temari mumbled, "I shouldn't have done that, I was being childish."

"That's okay, don't worry about it."

"..."

"..."

"What did Tayuya say?"

Shikamaru gulped and looked her in the eye as he told her.

"She said you were messed up. Blamed your mum's death for it and said your dad was a psycho."

Temari snorted.

"She's not wrong there..." She said it more to herself than to Shikamaru.

"She called you a slut and a whore."

"She would, wouldn't she?" Temari sighed. "That's okay, looks like I won't have to cause a commotion by physically kicking her out of my house."

Shikamaru stared at her.

"And she called Gaara a faggot."

Temari didn't even say a word as she spun on her heel and stormed down the stairs. She was only half aware of Shikamaru following along behind her as though he were her shadow.

Once inside the living room, Ino called Shikamaru over and Temari grabbed Tayuya by the collar of her jumper and dragged her out of the room. When she got to the hall, she slammed her against the wall and started yelling.

She was barely conscious of what she was saying. It was hard to hear herself through her own fury.

"I WARNED YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH!" She was yelling. "I FUCKING WARNED YOU!"

She only stopped yelling when she noticed Tayuya was giggling.

"WHAT?"

"You really want me to believe that you'd hurt me in your own house in front of dozens of people?" Tayuya asked. "If you do, I'll just tell everyone about Gaara being gay. And I'll tell your little 'Daim-kun' that you're cheating on him."

"Daimaru knows I wouldn't. And if you tell a single soul about Gaara, I will slice your throat and feed your corpse to the homeroom teacher's Guinea pig. Got it?"

Tayuya was about to smirk and comeback with a comment when she suddenly put on a panicked expression.

"D-DON'T WORRY TEMARI, I WON'T TELL!"

"Damn straight you won't!" Temari was pleased with herself for scaring Tayuya into submission. She loosened her grip on her and Tayuya smiled.

"I won't tell anyone about how you hooked up with your transfer partner in his room!"

Temari frowned. What was she on about?

"Tema, is that true?"

Temari spun around.

"D-Daim, of course not!"

Tayuya stood beside her and smiled.

"Of course not Daimaru, Temari would _never_ do that!" And she giggled before sauntering off back into the living room.

"I. WILL. _KILL_. HER!"

Daimaru was looking at her and frowning.

"You really haven't cheated on me?"

"No Daim, of course I haven't. If I didn't want to be with you, I wouldn't be." Temari insisted. So why am I with you...?

She shook her head and went over to her boyfriend. _Boyfriend. That's right, He's my boyfriend. Him._

She held him and gave him a quick kiss before walking back into the sitting room, holding his hand.

"You sure?"

Temari sighed loudly and looked him straight in the eye.

"Yes. I'm sure! I think that I'd have remembered hooking up with a kid the same age as my brother."

Daimaru relaxed a little bit and adjusted a part of his mummy costume.

"It's just that... You've been looking over at him a lot during the party, I thought maybe..."

"Daimaru. Look at me." He looked her in the eye and she was mildly disappointed that his gaze didn't make her shiver the way Shikamaru's had earlier on. "I didn't. Hook up. With the kid. When I looked over, I was only making sure he wasn't completely alone or terrified during the party. Nothing more."

Daimaru smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

"Okay,"

Satisfied that she'd successfully convinced him, she led the way over to the couch, that was a little more cramped than when they'd left, and sat down, half on his lap so as not to be either crushed or pushed off.

She was vaguely aware of Shikamaru's gaze on her and figured she should apologise for being the reason he was back in the party.

Just when she was about to bid Daimaru goodnight, the song that was playing changed to the one that she had requested.

Herself and Daimaru looked at each other and grinned, they got off their feet and danced, even though neither of them were good. It isn't a party unless Mr. Brightside is played.

OoOoOoO

Jealousy.

He couldn't take his eyes off of them, and at the same time, he just couldn't look. It killed him.

Jealous.

He stormed out of the room and went to his bed. His stomach felt sick as he thought of how they were, and what they were going to do after the party. It was all in his head but he saw them smiling, laughing.

Together.

He was never going to be a part of their little world he could only ever be apart.

"That's the price you pay for liking her," said the more intelligent of the voices inside his head.

"There's hope yet," said the other.

He ignored them both and shut his eyes as jealousy washed over him.


	13. Chapter 13 Cravings

_**A/N: I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN SO LONG SORRYYYYY. I had a load of exams last week in like, Maths, Physics, German, Irish, Chemistry AND biology, so I was studying A LOT for those. Sorry :(**_

 _ **Okiedokie,Halloween is over (in the story) and we're on to preparations for the debate. I took a lot of inspiration for this chapter from actual debating matches I took part in with my school a few years back, so yeah.**_

 _ **Thanks so much for all the follows faves and reviews!**_

 _ **This chapter is for Eclipsiscat! Thanks for the fave, and I ADORE your name!**_

 _ **Cravings**_

Temari took a deep breath and stood up from her seat before moving to the top of the classroom.

"Hello, adjudicators, distinguished timekeeper, members of the opposition and fellow members of the proposition. My name is Sabaku no Temari and I am here with my team, Shimito Hana and Nara Shikamaru to propose the motion that the death penalty should be abolished."

She didn't look down once at her page, and Shikamaru had to admit that he was mildly impressed by how confident she sounded.

She bit down on her lip-something Shikamaru noticed she did quite a bit while she hesitated- and looked to Yamada sensei, who nodded to her as signal to continue with her speech.

"As first speaker, I would like to begin by outlining the cruelty and inhumanity behind this barbaric approach to so-called justice..."

Shikamaru propped his head up on his finger-tips and stared at her as she spoke, hearing what she said without listening per se. He found his eyes slowly wandering from her eyes to her curved mouth, watching as her lips quirked up a slight bit more at the right corner than the left each time she made a point she knew to be indisputable.

And then her neck, she looked around the room she spoke, making wide movements with her arms and occasionally walking a few steps forward or backwards. Her diction was excellent and she spoke clearly. He could find no flaw in her speech. In _her_.

He realised after she stopped speaking that there was an unpleasant silence surrounding him, and he found himself missing her voice.

"I now call upon the first speaker from the opposition to put their points forward."

With that, she turned back to the desk beside Hana, a shy but smart girl from her Chemistry class who had awkwardly admitted to Temari that she wanted to try debating herself.

Yamada sensei beamed at her as she made her way to the top of the room.

"That was excellent, I can't find a single flaw in your speech. Well done,"

She turned to Hana.

"You'll be up after first opposition, this is just a test run, so you haven't haven't heard their speech yet, but I expect you to prepare some rebuttal, alright?"

Hana nodded and made her way to the top of the room where Temari once stood and began speaking. Her voice wasn't anywhere near as loud and proud as Temari's had been, but she wasn't too clumsy with her volume control.

One thing that Shikamaru couldn't help but notice was how she awkwardly wrung her hands together and kept on glancing down at her sheet.

He found his eyes drifting back to Temari, who was fully focussed on the timid girl, a tiny prideful smile playing at her lips.

Hana finished up with her speech and Yamada sensei took her off to the side to talk to her about improvements that needed to be made before turning to Shikamaru and giving him a curt nod.

He stood up and stood where the others stood before him and cleared his throat before giving the same introduction.

"Er-" he said afterwards "I forgot my speech, so I'm doing it from memory if that's alright?"

Yamada shrugged but looked more than just a little irritated by his lack of organisation.

"Fire away,"

So he spoke, remembering as many details as he could and trying his best to let his more confident side show through, but not too much.

To put it quite simply, he just wanted to impress Temari.

After he finished speaking, he allowed himself to look at her.

She was staring right at him and she awkwardly looked away as he met her gaze.

"That was really good Nara. You sounded a bit bored, but I'm impressed you pulled off an eight minute speech from memory. Well done."

He walked back to his seat and locked eyes with Temari once, this time looking away before she did.

After the debating "coach" ran them through what they needed to improve on, they were dismissed and allowed to go home.

They had only been held back for about an hour, and Shikamaru was glad the training hadn't gone on for longer.

"So," Temari said as they walked back to her place together, just the two of them.

He looked at her and waited for her to continue.

"How was my speech?"

"It was good," he said feeling slightly guilty for not paying that much attention to the actual content of her speech. "Really good."

She frowned.

"That's it? Dude, I worked my _ass_ off for that!"

"It was great then,"

She glared at him.

"That sounded forced!"

"It wasn't, seriously you did great."

Her glare didn't falter.

"I don't believe you, you're lying."

"I'm not! Seriously, you're amazing, I swear."

She stopped walking and just stared at him.

"What was that?"

"I- you did amazingly well. Like. Your speech. It was really good."

She smiled teasingly at him.

"That's not what you said though,"

"Whatever," he mumbled.

She chuckled and started prodding his ribs, the contact sending a jolt of electricity coursing through his system.

"Look, what do you want me to say?" He snapped, embarrassed by the heat that was rising in his face.

She looked slightly offended and allowed her arm to drop limply by her side.

"I was only joking, sheesh." She grumbled, accelerating a little.

Shikamaru sighed and took hold of her wrist.

"Look, sorry I-"

"It's fine."

She continued walking, surprising him when she effortlessly wrenched her arm from his grasp.

"Temari..."

"Forget it. You were just being immature and I shouldn't have teased you. I get it."

"No, Temari-"

She spun around to face him and spat his own words at him.

" What do you want me to say?"

He was taken aback, but he didn't want things to be awkward between them, so he didn't flinch.

"I want you to listen to my apology."

He stepped forward and took her wrists in his hands and couldn't help but be surprised by how small they seemed between his fingers.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you, I was just annoyed that I'd phrased my sentence badly. I'm sorry."

She simply stared at him.

"I honestly thought your speech was amazing, and for the record, I do think that you're amazing. You have amazing vocal projection and your entire composure was flawless. We're guaranteed to win thanks to you."

She continued staring.

"Thank you."

He said nothing and the two of them simply stood there for a moment longer, his hands gripping her wrists, her body leaning slightly into his.

He could have just...

Temari cleared her throat.

"We should get going." She murmured.

He didn't react, he continued looking at her, her eyes refused to meet his, and her teal irises were hidden behind her eyelashes.

"Shikamaru..."

Hearing his name spoken in her voice made a surging flame rise in him, and the temptation to hold her closer was threatening to take over him.

She looked at him again, her gaze almost causing him to stumble.

"Lets go."

He continued looking at her and couldn't resist the tiniest action.

He brushed her fringe out of her eyes. She needed a trim, it was too long. The very tip of his finger made contact with the skin of her forehead and that single moment of touch jolted through him, making him crave more. More of _her._

His fingers trailed from her temple to her ear, her jawline, her neck...

He stopped and dropped his arm, releasing his loose grip on her wrist.

"Yeah, lets go."

He continued walking, fully aware that she was still frozen to the spot and staring at his back.

He didn't turn back, scared of what expression she was making.

He was only hoping she felt the electricity as strongly as he did as his fingers still tingled from the contact with her skin.

He craved more.


	14. Chapter 14 The Long Walk Home

**_A/N: I HAVE A LITERAL TSUNAMI OF EXAMS NEXT WEEK. I am therefor posting this before I have an actual breakdown. Writing this has been my only break from studying, why must the education system be this way?_**

 ** _Anyways, this chapter is kinda like the last one in the sense that it's only from one person's perspective, except this time it's from Tem's p.o.v._**

 ** _I hope you like it, I'm kinda trying to keep the story somewhat entertaining for y'all._**

 ** _Thank you so much for all the rviews!_**

 ** _Anyway, the dedication for this chapter is..._** ** _AnimeIsLyfey_** ** _. Sup. How's life? Or should I say... How is Lyfey? Hahah, I'm hilarious, I swear._**

 ** _Aaanyways. On we go good sirs!_**

 ** _The Long Walk Home._**

Why did he do that?

Temari stared at his back as he walked away and struggled to regain her composure.

The kid was fifteen for crying out loud! Why was she still trembling and more than just a little warm?

Why was she blushing?

 _What the hell, Nara?_

After what felt like hours ( though it can't have been more than a few minutes) she started shuffling home.

By the time she got back, it was reasonably dark and she had cooled off a bit.

Not enough.

She hastily changed out of her uniform and into a pair of shorts and a top, pulling a baggy hoodie over her head as she left her room.

"Yo Tema, where you goin'?"

"Just running a little," she called over her shoulder to Kankurō.

"Cool, could you bring back some eggs?"

She frowned.

"How are we already out of eggs?" She began, before realising that Kankurō was probably going to launch into some crazy story.

"Nevermind!" She said, holding up her hand before he could begin. "I won't be passing by the shop anyways. Get them yourself."

"Aw, but sis..."

"Bye!"

She ran down the stairs and pulled on her shoes. She hadn't gone running in weeks, so she had to sift through her many pairs of Doc Martens before she finally caught sight of her runners, peeking out from behind Kankurō's boots.

She pulled them on and grabbed her MP3 player from her jacket pocket, putting her headphones in hear ears and heading out the door into the night.

As she ran, she tried to process her thoughts. She wasn't one for sugar-coating, but she was very much capable of lying to herself if need be.

Music pounded in her ears as she ran to the rhythm, trying desperately to figure out why it was that anytime she even thought of the Nara, she'd feel shakey.

And not in a bad way.

It was a little unsettling, and as much as she enjoyed the idea of spending time with him, a little voice in the back of her head would constantly whisper.

"Daimaru."

And she hated the fact that she knew the answers to all the questions she was asking herself but just couldn't bring herself to answer them.

"You have a crush." Came a voice in the back of her mind that she hated hearing.

"Yeah, on _Daimaru."_ She told herself.

"Bullshit!"

"Look, I'm dating Daim."

"That doesn't mean you like him. You said so yourself."

She shook her head and turned a corner, heading towards her local park.

The streetlights illuminated her path and elongated her shadow as she ran.

It was getting colder, but she hardly noticed as she ran.

She reached the park gates and slowed down. It was only four kilometers from her house, and it had taken her nearly fifteen minutes to get there.

She clearly got weaker during the few weeks she'd neglected to train.

Rather than turning around like she usually would have, she went into the park and continued running.

To catch up on lost time. And to think for longer.

The park was completely deserted and she knew she was tiring as her footsteps became heavier and her breaths became more ragged, but she couldn't bring herself to stop.

How on earth could she like the kid?

"Why would I?"

"He's strange. You like strange. _You're_ strange."

"But why?"

"He's smarter than Daim. Definitely more mature. He's funny. Good looks are a definite bonus."

"But that doesn't mean I _like_ him."

"But he's your type. Even if he isn't particularly sporty or athletic, he's definitely intelligent. And a total pushover."

She snorted at her own conscience. That much was right.

" I don't like him though..."

"You sure about that?"

"...no."

The voice left, it knew when it had played its part.

"Just cos he's not an idiot, doesn't mean I like him..."

Her lungs were starting to burn just a little and she checked her watch.

She'd been running for forty minutes at full speed.

Slowing down, she made her way towards a bench, stretching a little before sitting down.

Parks in Suna weren't where you'd go if you wanted to see botanical wonders, they were dreary and sandy. The most colour you'd see (other than the yellow-grey of the sand) was in the playground where there were massive red climbing frames.

She got up and made her way towards the games area at a brisk pace. No one else was around at that time, so she had no reason to be embarrassed as she hauled herself up to the top of the structure and looked down at the dreary park, wondering why she found such little things to be so magical when she was younger.

She sighed and leaned her head against one of the beams that made up the frame.

She was going to have to tell Daimaru, wasn't she?

Her breaths were coming out as vapour now, and she remembered how she used to play "dragon" with Gaara at nighttime when it got cold on the days when their father was home.

On the days where distractions and excuses to leave the house were a godsend.

She hadn't realised how long she'd been relaxing for until she felt a vibration in her pocket.

She nearly dropped her phone as she took it out, but managed to keep her grip on it.

"What is it, Kurō?"

"Sis, where the hell are you? You've been out for nearly three and a half hours!"

 _Shit._

She hurriedly hung up on Kankurō and made her way down the climbing frame faster than was safe.

Once she got to the bottom, she started running again and almost instantly felt a pain shooting through her hamstring.

 _Shitshitshit._

She hadn't warmed up after sitting on the climbing frame in the cold wearing only shorts for over an hour.

She was so screwed.

She ended up having to power walk. Her pulled muscle was giving her hell and she couldn't help but grimace any time she put pressure on her bad leg.

The walk home would usually only take her a half hour, but considering the state of her leg, it would probably take her double the time.

She got out of the park and onto the main street, still swearing under her breath about her stupidity.

"If only Nara could swoop in and save you right now."

"Shut up,"

The voice continued.

"Nara would help you limp home. Maybe he'd let you wrap an arm around his shoulder..."

"He'd find that troublesome."

"Then he'd give you a piggy back."

"He wouldn't be able for that."

"Bridal-style?"

"I'd kick his ass if he so much as suggested that idea."

After ten minutes of awkward shuffle-walking, the voice finally left her alone.

"Hey,"

"I DON'T LIKE HIM!" She yelled. "NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Er..." A young woman stumbled back a bit and raised her arms as if surrendering. " I only wanted to see if you were alright... You seem to be in a bit of pain, is all."

"Crap, I'm so sorry." Temari exclaimed. "I thought you were..."

 _...My conscience..._

"... Someone else"

The woman nodded but still looked concerned.

"I'm fine, thank you, I just pulled a muscle. I'll be alright."

She was still kicking herself for her own stupidity fifteen minutes later, when she was only halfway home.

"Now I seem like a crazy woman. Great."

"Well..."

"Go away."

"Just saying..."

"Fuck off."

"You're the one who's talking to yourself."

"In my head."

"The terrified woman would beg to differ."

"Shut up."

"Okie!"

She only had thirty minutes left of walking. She could do this, she told herself.

It was getting cold though, and her running shorts weren't helping her conserve heat in any way.

"Great."

She had to stop. She'd call Daimaru to pick her up, he was the closest person who had a car.

She pulled out her phone and switched on the screen.

Seeing that she was literally cursed and had only four percent battery, she hurriedly scrolled through her contact list and found his number, clicking the call button as quickly as she could.

"Come onnnnnnnn pick uppppppp."

It rang out. Why the hell wasn't he answering?!

"Hey Temari, what's u-"

He went quiet.

"FUCK!" Her phone had died. She was now royally screwed.

She wasn't going to be able to walk for half an hour in the cold wearing nothing but a pair of shorts on her legs.

The temperature could drop to minus degrees at night, and there was no way in hell she could stick it out with a pulled muscle.

Daimaru lived in the opposite direction from her house, and Yukata and Matsuri lived further out from her own.

She stopped "walking" and leaned against the wall to her left.

She could always get a taxi...

 _No money._

She could hitch a ride?

 _Dangerous... But what other options even are there?_

She pushed off from the wall and turned so that she was facing the main road. She waited for a car to light up oh the distance before sticking out her hand with her thumb up.

The first six cars drove past her with apologetic expressions worn by the drivers, the seventh slowed down a little but then turned into another street. She sighed and considered just sitting down and waiting for her pulled muscle to feel better when a car finally pulled up beside her.

"Hey, you okay?"

She couldn't see the driver through the darkened windows that were only rolled down a little bit.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm just trying to get home. I injured my leg and I don't think I can walk for another half hour."

"I'm headed towards the gym, do you live down that way?"

Temari nodded, her house was on the way.

"I don't mind giving you a lift then. I'm in no hurry."

"Thank you so much," Temari reached for the handle and opened the door.

She was about to slide into the car when she saw the driver.

 _Shit._

She closed the door and backed away awkwardly thanks to her stiff and sore leg.

"What's wrong?" He asked, allowing the window to open fully.

"Hidan, you son of a bitch. Leave me alone."

He turned off the ignition and stepped out of his car, walking around the back of it to stand on the pavement.

"What's wrong, pretty lady? Want to drag yourself home, is it? I don't bite."

He smiled widely, showing almost every tooth in his mouth.

"I'll walk. Thanks."

"Look, I'm offering you a lift. Your place is on the way to where I'm headed. Take it or leave it."

"I'll leave it."

"But you'd have accepted a lift from a total stranger?"

Temari thought about it. He had a point.

"I'll walk."

Hidan shrugged.

"Whatever. Why don't you get someone else to give you a lift?"

"No battery."

"Huh."

"Yeah."

Hidan leaned against his car and ruffled his hair.

"I'm not gonna kill you, you know."

"Sure. Doesn't mean I have to like you."

He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What did I do to deserve that kinda treatment ?"

"You call me by 'pretty lady' it's creepy. Also, what you said the other day was gross."

"Ah, the boyfriend problems?"

"Yup."

"..."

"..."

"..."

" I didn't mean to offend you. Do you want a lift?"

"Nah, I'm good."

Hidan sighed.

"Whatever, bitch. Take the compliment next time someone tries to chat you up."

He walked around to the other side of his car again and got in.

"Last chance, take it or leave it?"

Temari considered her options one more time and bit her lip.

"I'm not a rapist, nor am I a murderer."

Hidan was staring at her, his patience was nearing it's end.

When Temari said nothing he sighed and got into his car, turning the ignition on once more.

Temari opened the door and got in.

"Thanks," she muttered, putting her seatbelt on.

"No problem, babe."

He cracked up laughing when he saw the look she gave him and didn't falter under her glare.

"Tell me the way."

He was about to drive on when there was a shout from outside.

"TEMARI!"

She turned to Hidan and shrugged.

"Gotta go, I guess."

He groaned and gestured to the door.

"Bye," she said as she opened the door.

"We can talk some other time maybe," Hidan shrugged, before smiling widely. "Pretty girl like you can do better for yourself."

"What the actual fuck?"

She stepped out of the car and he sped off before she got the chance to say any more.

"Creep."

She looked up and saw someone running towards her at full speed.

Shikamaru.

He stopped as he reached her and panted, his hands on his knees.

"I-SAW-YOU...GET-IN...A-CAR..." He gasped. "WITH-CREEPY-COORDINATOR-DUDE..."

Temari couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I needed a lift." She pointed to her leg. "Pulled muscle."

He stared at her incredulously.

"But...he..."

"I'm frozen and my leg is in pain. I ain't walking for another half hour like this." Temari said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What are you doing here?"

"I was sent by Kankurō to get eggs."

"Screw that, walk home with me. I'm far better company than unfertilized chicken fetuses."

"That defeats the point of a fetus."

"What?"

" A fetus has to be fertilized. Otherwise it's a single cell gamete."

Temari rolled her eyes.

"Why are we even discussing this?" She asked. "Lets just go."

They began walking back when Temari winced.

"I've cramped up too." She groaned, massaging a spot on her thigh.

"Troublesome..."

Shikamaru pulled off his coat and tied it at her hips before pulling one of her arms over his shoulder and wrapping an arm around her waist.

"It'll be quicker if I help you."

Temari didn't argue with him as they walked home, Shikamaru supporting most of her weight.

"TEMARI WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!"

"I got a pulled muscle..."

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU CALL?"

"No battery..."

Kankurō stared at her.

"And you call _me_ the idiot?"

Temari ignored him and went to her room. She didn't answer when she heard a knock at her door and she said nothing as the Nara walked in.

"Hey, Temari."

"Hn?"

"Um, about the car incident... Please don't do anything stupid like that again. He could have..." He trailed off.

"Raped and killed me. I know. I was dumb, I get it. I won't do it again." Temari rolled over on her bed and faced him.

He sat down beside her.

"I don't mean it in a bad way or anything. I just... Got a scare."

Temari smiled.

"Don't worry about me, I can look after myself."

He rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for showing up. It was stupid on my behalf to have gotten into a car with him."

"No problem. Troublesome woman."

"Shut up, lazy ass. You were out of breath from running twenty minutes."

"Whatever..."

Temari laughed and lay back down on her bed.

"Hey, what's the nicest way to phrase a break-up?"


	15. Chapter 15 Comfort

_**A/N: Hehe, I've decided to move the Authors Note to the bottom after this chapter, it just makes it easier when I'm editing.**_

 _ **Thank you so much for all the reviews! I'm gonna start mentioning them in the chapters cos I feel bad if I don't. Makes sense, right?**_

 _ **This chapter is dedicated to godDANIIit, I hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **Please leave a review!**_

 _ **Comfort.**_

"It's not you, it's m- oh _fuck_ this shit!"

Shikamaru looked up from the chessboard and raised an eyebrow at her.

"I think you're overthinking this. Why have you suddenly decided to break up with him? I thought you two got on?"

Temari sighed and looked at the tower that she had just taken from Shikamaru.

"I do like him but... As a friend, I guess."

She took a deep breath, avoiding Shikamaru's gaze as she continued.

"We get on, and I respect him, but I don't think it's fair on him if I date him but don't have any romantic feelings for him. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, it does."

"He can do better than me."

"How long have you known him for?"

Shikamaru was curious as to what was making her feel so bad.

"We went to creche together. You could say we're childhood friends. Except we weren't friends."

She was smirking now.

"He used to pick on me for being a tomboy and being from a wealthy background. Everyone thought he was crazy for it, I was the strongest in the creche. They thought I was going to kill him, but I liked that about him I guess. It was the closest I got to honest respect. The only reason other people didn't bully me was out of fear."

Shikamaru couldn't honestly say he was surprised, they seemed to know each other fairly well.

"I just don't want to hurt his feelings, I owe him that much."

"Then just tell him the truth."

She looked at him.

"I don't even know the truth myself." She muttered. "I just can't go on dating him, I feel bad, knowing that I don't like him, and him being oblivious to that. I'm not so heartless that I want to hurt him. He's the only guy who's honestly liked me for more than just my background or my looks."

"Tell him those exact words. People say that the truth hurts, but sometimes honesty is the kindest thing you can give someone. Daimaru seems like a nice guy, he deserves to know the real reason why you're breaking up with him."

She considered his words for a moment before giving him a curt nod.

"Thanks Nara, I'll do just that."

"Stop calling me Nara."

"Sorry, Lazy-Ass."

OoOoOoO

A knock at the front door made Temari stand up from the chess game they were only half invested in.

She ran down the stairs and opened the door.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, come in."

Daimaru walked in and shrugged off his jacket.

"What's up, Tema?"

Temari took a deep breath and turned to face him.

"I need to tell you something."

She led him to the sitting room where they both sat down.

"What's so important that you call me at eleven for?"

"Daimaru... I think we... Um... Well..."

He looked at her expectantly.

She took a deep breath and tried again.

"Daim, I'm breaking up with you. I'm sorry, but I just don't like you in that way."

He looked down at his lap like a dejected puppy.

"I see..."

"Daim, it's not that I don't like you at all, I just don't think it's fair for me to date you when I'm doubting my feelings. You deserve better than me."

"I couldn't have asked for anyone better than you, Tem."

His words made her break a little inside.

"That's not true, you're a great guy. I know you'll find someone a million times better than me. I'm sure of it."

"Temari, I won't bother you by begging you to take me back, don't worry. I understand that you want to do better for yourself. Really, I do."

"No, Daim, that's not it at all, really!"

"Okay,". He stood up and walked out to the hall, grabbing his jacket.

"Daim, please-!"

He turned around to face her, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Please what?"

She realised she had nothing more to say.

He wasn't angry or mad at her. He was sad.

He was completely and utterly heartbroken.

"I hope we can still be friends Daimaru. I really hope we can."

He nodded solemnly and left the house.

He didn't slam the door.

She simply stared at the closed door and then sank down to her knees and pressed her back against the door.

That was the hardest break up she'd ever gone through with.

OoOoOoO

When Temari came back to the room, she looked sad.

Not cry-sad, just sad.

Down.

Shikamaru watched as she walked to her en suite bathroom.

She washed her face and stepped back out with a towel pressed on her forehead.

She sank down onto the bed beside Shikamaru and he was acutely aware of how their shoulders were leaning against each other.

"How'd it go?"

She said nothing as she brought the towel away from her face and leaned her forehead against his shoulder.

After a long moment of silence she mumbled out a few short syllables.

"Not too bad."

He felt her words resonate around the room.

She even sounded sad.

He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him before patting her head in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

"You'll be fine."

"It's not me I'm worried about."

"I know."

He let his temple rest against her head as he dropped the hand that was stroking her hair.

"I know."

OoOoOoO

She wanted to stay like that forever, with his hand around her and her head on his shoulder.

But then she remembered Daimaru.

She lifted her head-forgetting that his was on top of hers- and began speaking to him.

"I shou-"

His head dropped from the sudden shift in her position.

His forehead was leaning against hers and neither of them moved.

She was aware of how close she was, but she allowed herself that one moment of being close to someone else.

She needed comforting.

She needed someone to lean on.

She was never one for tears, but even she had moments of weakness, so she let herself lean her weight against his and just stay there, motionless.

She let the world go still around them and shut her eyes, knowing only a few small facts.

She was a bitch.

She liked some kid.

He was right next to her.

After she let herself process these facts, she stood up and held out her hand to him.

"Thanks Nara."

"Shikamaru. It's Shikamaru. We're friends, stop calling me by my surname."

"Thanks Shikamaru."

They said goodnight and she closed her bedroom door behind her, letting out a sigh.

It was over. Her relationship was over.

And for some reason, she felt like crap.

If Daimaru had just been angry with her, it would have made everything so much easier.

But no, Daimaru had to be understanding and caring.

She didn't let herself cry as she crawled into bed and fell asleep.

For the first of many nights to come, Shikamaru was her last thought before she closed her eyes.

Shikamaru was her first thought as she woke the next day.

And she was his.


	16. Chapter 16 Battles

**_This chapter is for Mirin Hanashi ,_**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

 ** _Battles_**

The day wasn't too bad to begin with.

He woke to the sound of food being prepared and decided to get up by himself for the first time in the course of his stay.

The others were shocked to see him awake before one o'clock on a weekend.

"Mornin'" he drawled as he shuffled into the kitchen, pulling out a bowl to have cereal in.

"Shikamaru, you're up early... By your standards."

"Can't afford to be late to the competition, can I?"

Temari chuckled and moved in closer to him with open arms.

For one glorious moment, he thought she was going to hug him, but she scooted around him and reached up to the cupboard, bringing a glass down for herself.

He looked down at his feet to conceal the blush that had built on his face as he sat himself down at the table and began munching on the bland cereal.

"Have you found your speech, Nara?"

"Stop calling me Nara." He whined through a mouth full of cereal. "And yeah, I have.

She cuffed him over the head as she walked past him.

"I'll call you what I like, and don't talk with your mouth full."

He rolled his eyes.

This chick was as bad as his mom.

"See you later."

And then she was gone.

After the kitchen door closed behind her, Kiba let out a low whistle.

"My man, you are so screwed." He chuckled.

"W-what?"

"I saw you staring at her. And th- _ARE YOU BLUSHING?!"_ He was cackling now. "Aw man. This is hilarious! She's way too hot for you man."

"Oi, that's my sister you're talking about, shut it!" Kankurō snapped, glancing up from his engineering magazine. "Anyway, I still don't think she's over the Daimaru kid, she only broke up with him a couple of weeks ago."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't checking her out, nor am I attracted to her in any way," he grumbled. "Kiba's just a total perv."

He finished his cereal and headed up to his room, pulling out the page where his speech was written, reading over it briefly before lying back down on his bed and dozing off.

OoOoOoO

She couldn't believe it.

He'd fallen asleep.

That lazy son of a bitch had fallen right back asleep after impressing her with his ability to be awake before midday.

 _What a dra-_

 _No. Stop._

She poked him on the forehead and waited for him to wake up.

"Nara," she grumbled.

She poked him again.

Nothing.

"Naaaraaa,"

Nothing.

She sat down beside him and poked the top of his nose like a three year old.

"Shikamaru Nara."

She brought her fingertip to his temple and let it trail down to his jaw.

"Shikamaru..."

He didn't stir.

She was getting tired of this.

In one sudden move, she sat down on his lap and leaned over his face, smiling evilly at him as his eyes widened in shock.

"What the-"

He sat up-a move Temari didn't see coming-and she had to throw her arm forward to avoid colliding with his face.

When the movement died down, she was sitting on his lap straddling him with her arms framing him to the bed.

He looked petrified.

She cleared her throat.

"You weren't waking up."

"Possibly because my conscience knew that only troublesome things awaited me in the world of the waking."

She snorted, but refused to move from where she was seated.

"You can move, woman."

"Why?"

He blushed.

"You are _literally_ sitting on me. You're heavy."

"You're weak. Some guys would kill to have me in this position you know." She was shocked by what she was saying, but she was in too deep to be backing out.

He was blushing deeply underneath her.

"Woman," he grumbled. "Two can play at that game."

Taking her by surprise, he placed his hands in her hips and sat forward.

She instantly jumped off him and blushed madly.

He laughed.

"You lose,"

She glared at him.

"Too far, Nara. Too far."

His laughter filled the room.

"You should have seen the look on your face!" He laughed. "I got you good!"

"That was _not_ a win!"

"Yeah it was!"

"No!" She was biting back a laugh.

"It sooo was. You're just a sore loser, Temari!"

She shook her head at him.

"Nara, you may have won the battle, but you haven't won the war."

 ** _A/N: Hola, How's life?_**

 ** _My teachers have been giving back exam results all week, why the stress?_**

 ** _All the reviews have really been so lovely, thank you so much for all those who actually take the time to write one, it's really rewarding to read them and I'm a total sucker for praise, I don't get it much from people other than teachers or maybe friends, so it's nice to know that people like my writing!_**

 ** _Anyways, as promised, I'm gonna answer some of yo reviews._**

 ** _Or just talk about them, idk, let's see!_**

 ** _king 1012 ~ all of your comments have been absolutely adorable! I'm glad my update made you happy, but I guarantee you your review made me happier, :)_**

 ** _Wiceriene ~ oh wow, so many words o.O I was actually gonna make Tema stick with Daim for a lil longer, but your reviews really amused me so I figured I could just chop and change a little, I hope you're glad Daim is gone ;)_**

 ** _Right, I'm stretching this fairly long already, so imma mention other reviews at another point._**

 ** _I'm currently working on a shorter fanfic for MND awareness so please check that out if you'd like! (Shikatema, of course!)_**

 ** _Thank you so much for all the support so far!_**

 ** _please follow/Favourite and definitely review!_**

 ** _you know you want to!._**


	17. Chapter 17 Chivalry

_**This chapter dedicationgoes to**_ _ **greenho4!**_ _ **thank you for the fave!**_

 _ **Chivalry**_

"I now hand it over to the first opposition."

The jury and audience applauded as Temari took her seat next to Hana.

Shikamaru scribbled a short "well done" onto a spare scrap of paper and slid it over to her.

She smirked when she read it but didn't look in his direction, keeping her eyes focussed on the first opp.

A few times, she picked up on some potential rebuttal for Hana,and wrote a small note to her.

When the dark haired boy stopped speaking, Hana went up and delivered her speech.

Shikamaru was all too aware of the chair-sized distance between himself and Temari, and he found himself thinking back to that afternoon.

He'd been stupidly childish to have touched her, but in his defense, she was sitting on him. There wasn't much he could have done to get her off.

He kept on stealing glances at her. She smiled everytime Hana spoke confidently and she was practically beaming with pride by the time the timid girl wrapped up her speech.

When Hana returned to her seat with the adjudicators applauding, Temari high-fived her and ruffled her hair, to which the brunette blushed.

The next opp went up and began his speech. As he spoke, Temari and Hana both passed down notes on his speech for Shikamaru to comment on, which he gladly took up.

It was time for him to give his speech.

He got to his feet and began to speak.

OoOoOoO

Temari wasn't the type of girl to pine after some guy.

She wasn't the type to flutter her eyelashes and giggle and blush.

She certainly was not the type of girl to change who she was and what she stood for.

So when some guy swoops into her life and makes her feel as though she needs to be more beautiful, more intelligent, more humorous, more... Anything, she fights back.

When they got back from the debate, laughing as they got into the taxi and congratulating each other over their victory, she was pleased to see that her conversation with him wasn't weird or awkward.

Neither of them brought up what had happened that afternoon.

The problem didn't arise until they reached the Sabaku residence.

"I'll pay," Shikamaru took his wallet out from his back pocket and Temari frowned.

"You're the guest, I'll pay." Temari took a twenty from her purse and slipped it to the cabbie.

"A man can't let a woman pay."

Temari glared at him and stepped out of the cab.

When he eventually got his shit together and came out himself, she stared him down with the fiercest gaze she could manage in her tired state.

"Listen here, bitch." She snapped. "I don't need a fucking 'man' to look after me. If I remember correctly, you're only fifteen. I'm the adult here, not you. Go to bed. Kid."

He sighed and muttered "troublesome" under his breath.

Resisting the urge to throttle him, she stomped up to her room and closed the door behind her.

She was too angry to slam it.

She slipped out of her uniform - which she had to wear during the competition as she was representing her school - and pulled on a tank top and shorts, the heating was on, so the nights weren't too cold. Only the early mornings were problematic, but hoodies were there for a reason, right?

Once she slipped into bed, she allowed herself to smile, she was happy they won the competition, and she'd never thanked Shikamaru for taking part in it with her.

She figured he was asleep, and she was still annoyed at him for what he'd said in the taxi, so she didn't want to talk to him.

She was also aware that the blonde from his school had invited him to spend the next day with her and Matsuri, so she wouldn't see him then either.

Temari was pissed, but she could always be polite.

She hauled herself out of bed and snatched up a notepad and pen from her desk and scribbled a note to him. He'd see it the next day.

OoOoOoO

When he woke up, his first thought was of how comfy his bed was.

In fact, his first dozen thoughts were about sleep.

He forced himself to get up, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of Ino's frustration when she arrived and saw him fast asleep.

He may have been lazy, but he was also a genius.

As he padded over to the bedroom door, he felt his bare feet collide with something, which he picked up.

Upon further inspection in the dim lighting of his room, he concluded that it was a handwritten note.

He crawled back into bed and switched on the small lamp that was on his bedside table beside Elliot, the llama hedge.

"Lazy-ass

I would apologise for snapping at you, but I'm not actually that sorry.

I wrote this to say thank you for taking time out of your sleep-filled life to actually take part in the debate with Hana and me.

You were a valuable asset and convenient partner and you definitely helped us achieve our victory.

I hope we can work together again at some point.

From

A Girl Dubbed Troublesome.

P.s. How's Elliot holding up?"

He snorted and read through it again.

And again.

And a fourth time.

Or maybe that was the sixth?

Either way, he knew the words off by heart by the time Ino arrived and screamed at him for not getting up earlier.

He glanced at the potted llama hedge for a brief moment before leaving, slipping a short note under Temari's bedroom door.

"Elliot is fine, I hope to work with you again too.

I don't need an apology, it's only typical for a woman to be offended by chivalry.

From,

A boy dubbed Lazy Ass.

P.s. Is it me or has my writing improved?"

He was looking forward to getting home from the trip Ino was dragging him on.

Troublesome as it was.

Troublesome as she was...

 _ **A/N: Heyyy**_

 ** _It's been a while, sorry! I was busy editing my other story, Limerence (Which y'all should totaly check out) and I kinda haven't posted on this story..._**

 ** _oops o.O_**

 ** _Does anyone have any plans for Halloween? My friend and I are dressing up as Gordon Ramsay and an Idiot Sandwich. (I'm the sandwich.)_**

 ** _I'm sorry for the lack of fluff- this episode is kinda like a filler-nothing much happened. Again, I apologise. Since I'm on my midterm, I'll get to write some proper chapters, I just posted this to let you guys know that I haven't dropped this story, so don't worry!_**

 ** _I won't go through reviews as I didn't get many, but thanks everyone who has shown support!_**

 ** _Please follow/fave/ review etc!_**

 ** _~Lee_**


	18. Chapter 18 Lethal

_**The dedication for this chapter goes to: All the guests who have reviewed! heehee, thankyou for supporting the story :)**_

 _ **Lethal**_

Christmas break was fast approaching, but with that on the way, it also meant that winter exams were almost upon the students of Suna Academy.

As usual, Temari was studying in her room, she always took these things seriously, but this year was different.

This year, she had to achieve a high grade to prove that she was not just some "troublesome woman".

She was an intelligent troublesome woman, thank you very much.

So for this reason, Temari had been cooped up in her bedroom for the past six hours, leaving only once for a fifty second toilet break.

She was going to prove that lazy ass so wrong.

A knock at her door distracted her from the paragraph she was reading about intermolecular forces for her chemistry test.

She grunted, too focussed to form the words "come in."

"Hey, Temari, can I borrow yo... What the hell is going on here?"

Kankurō looked around her walls which were covered in post-it notes, each colour representing a different subject.

He strolled over to the desk where she was hunched over her text book.

"Um... I don't think that what you're doing is healthy, Temari."

She grunted again.

"You're all cramped up. Go get a massage or something."

"Study first."

"Okaaay, lets go get you some help."

Kankurō walked out of the room and came back moments later accompanied by Gaara.

"Temari," Gaara said in his signature soft tone. "Kankurō has requested that I advise you to take a break. He promised me candy canes in return for this."

Temari looked up from her textbook at last and narrowed her eyes at the older of her two brothers.

"Is that so? Kankurō, you sly bastard. I'll take a break if you give me candy canes."

Kankurō sighed.

"One candy cane for one hour."

"Two for an hour."

Kankurō considered for a moment.

"Two for an hour and a half."

"Deal."

They shook on it and Temari turned back to her book, and scribbled a short note about Van der Waals forces on a green sticky note before sticking it onto the chemistry corner of her room, which was the wall to the left of her door.

"Hey!" Kankurō protested. "What about the break?"

"Pay me first."

"But I don't have any on me..."

"No canes, no break."

Kankurō sighed and left the room as Gaara sat down on his sister's bed.

"Which colour is which?" He asked conversationally.

"Green chemistry, Bio is yellow, physics is blue, english is white, maths is red, public speaking is orange and history is purple."

Gaara frowned and looked around.

"I don't see any of the yellow ones," he observed.

Temari smiled, "I ran out of walls."

She lay down beside her little brother and pulled him down so that they were both looking up at her ceiling.

"The biology notes have invaded the sky," she said.

Gaara nodded and briefly glanced over the notes that were stuck overhead.

"Why are you studying so hard?"

"To prove a point."

He nodded and set his hands down over his chest.

"I see."

Temari relaxed for a moment before she realised that she was meant to be studying.

She practically leapt off her bad in her haste to get back to her desk.

"Right, after Van der Waals forces we have... We have, uh... Oh, yes! Dipole-dipole! Right. Dipoles. Funnn."

"Dipole-dipole?"

"Yip."

"As in the second weakest intermolecular force?"

"Right on the money, little bro."

Wait, that hadn't been Gaara's voice...

She spun in her seat-a very comfy padded swivel chair- and glared as Nara Shikamaru stood in the doorway and allowed his eyes to roam around the mess that was her fact-filled room.

"What the hell, Nara?" She snapped. "Trying to steal my study techniques?"

He shook his head.

"Nah, kankurō just asked me to drop this off to you."

He held up two candy canes and Temari instantly leapt to her feet to grab them from him.

"Ah ah ah, he also specified that you had to be taking a break from your studies for an hour and a half to earn them."

She sighed and sat down on her bed beside Gaara, who was now fast asleep, holding her hand out expectantly.

He walked over and handed them to her with a lazy smile.

"He also said to make sure you don't go back to studying after I give you these."

Temari rolled her eyes and snatched her hand away.

"Shit!" She hissed, reaching for her shoulder and rolling it in its socket to relax the strained muscle.

"Don't cripple yourself, troublesome. That would be dumb."

"I'M NOT DUMB GODDAMMIT!"

Shikamaru flinched at her harsh tone and sat down beside her.

"I never thought that, troublesome. I only recommended that you don't do anything stupid. You shouldn't overexert yourself."

She sighed and rubbed her shoulder again.

"I know, I'm just a little on edge. Exam season, y'know."

"Just take a break. Studying's a drag."

"Yeah, well I need to study if I want to do well. When it comes to languages and the like, it's okay because the questions are mainly opinion based, but with sciences it's solid fact. I can't afford to slip up on those."

She rubbed her shoulder again and rolled her arm to see if it still hurt.

It did.

Sighing deeply, she lay down on the bad and looked up at the notes which were stuck on the ceiling.

"Maybe I should chill."

"Do you know what helps people relax?" The Nara said in a bored voice with a sly undertone.

"What? Sleep?"

"Well, yes that too, but I was thinking more along the lines of chess."

Temari groaned. The last time they'd played, he had completely beaten her and she did not want to have to go through that again.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll take option A."

He shrugged.

"Your loss. See you later. Don't break the rule," he added as he got up and left the room.

OooooooooO

After an hour Shikamaru went back to Temari's room to make sure that she hadn't hit the books again.

Much to his surprise, he found her sleeping alone in her bed. Gaara had left at some point, and Temari was curled up in a ball on top of her bed covers.

She was like a cat almost.

He let himself into her room- she'd left the door open after all- and looked at all the notes that coated her walls.

He got to her desk and looked at the open text book.

"Huh," he muttered to himself as he read through the page.

The definition for Hydrogen Bonds was highlighted in a vibrant yellow that seemed very out of character for Temari. Not that he knew her exceptionally well to begin with.

When he looked up, he saw dozens of yellow sheets stuck to the ceiling. At a glance, he saw that it was for biology.

A grumble from Temari's bed shook him out of his thoughts.

Temari stirred in her sleep and faced him with a peaceful expression. Again, something he wasn't used to from her.

Her eyes suddenly opened and slowly focussed on him.

"Shikamaru..." She mumbled, surprising him yet again by not being mad.

"How long was I asleep for?"

"Not long."

She nodded and allowed her eyes to drift shut once more.

Suddenly, they snapped open.

"Shit."

She sat up again and walked to her desk.

"Study study study." She was muttering, shuffling through papers and knocking a few paper clips off her desk as she scrambled for a particular sheet.

"Temari, you haven't had a full hour and a half yet."

"What?"

"You promised Kankurō that you'd take an hour and a half off from studying." Shikamaru explained, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder to lead her away from her desk.

"Oh. Yeah..."

She sat back down on her bed and took one of the candy canes out of her pocket, expertly unwrapping it.

"Do you like Christmas?" She asked conversationally as she began eating the sweet.

He shrugged.

"Sure. It can be troublesome though."

Rolling her eyes, Temari pulled the candy cane out of her mouth and inspected the sharp edge she'd managed to make out of it.

Christmas had never seemed so lethal.

"Everything is troublesome to you though."

"True."

He sat down by her side and they talked about festivities for a short while before Temari stopped answering and fell asleep again.

He realised that staring probably wasn't the wisest thing to do, but he couldn't take his eyes away from her.

She had thick eyelashes which were darker than her hair, which led him to wonder wether or not she was a natural blonde.

She didn't seem the type to dye her hair though.

And then there were her arms.

They were slim but also muscular, strangely balanced and feminine while nit seeming vulnerable.

She was a walking talking stereotype-killer and good god she looked great.

Shikamaru ignored the final thought.

He knew that it was only natural for a boy his age to be attracted to a pretty older girl, but he just wasn't interested in her solely for her looks.

Superficiality would have made everything easier.

If only he were fickle.

* * *

 _ **A/N: An impromptu chapter cos exams are stressing me the fu out. I won't get around to reviews right now, but next chapter I will, promise!**_

 _ **Please follow/fave/review!**_

 _ **~Lee**_


	19. Chapter 19 Reflection

**_This chapter is dedicated to: ! Thankyou for the fave!_**

 ** _Reflection._**

"Shikamaru, Blondie wants ya."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the nickname Kiba had given Temari, but said nothing as he got up from his bed and walked out of his room.

The last time he'd spoken to Temari was right before the final exam she'd sat, which was chemistry.

She'd been recovering from her intense study spree for the last two days.

"She's in the kitchen," Kiba said before giving him a clap on the shoulder.

"Good luck, my man."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Kiba had been ruthlessly bombarding him with quips and innuendos about Temari during almost the entirety of the trip, and to put it nicely: He was being a troublesome pain in the ass.

"What do you want, woman?" Shikamaru drawled as he shuffled into the kitchen.

Temari was at the worktop, flouring down the counter, she spun to face him and smiled widely.

"I'm making a gingerbread house!" She said happily. "You're helping me, cos Gaara legged it with Naruto and Kankurō's presence is as welcome as a stubbed toe when I'm in the kitchen."

He knew that there would be no point in arguing with her over that, not that he was against baking with her at all.

Himself, Ino and Chouji used to bake little gingerbread men ("And women!") every year at Christmas, so he liked to think that he was aware of the processes involved in making gingerbread.

But as it turned out: Baking with Temari was an entirely different thing altogether.

For one, she liked spices. A lot.

"Nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger." She called as he rooted through the spice cabinet (Yes, the Sabaku residence had a spice cabinet) to find what she asked for.

Then there was the issue of mess.

Now, Temari always came across as meticulous. Not necessarily prim and proper, but definitely meticulous. This baking experience proved that idea wrong.

Flour covered the floor and surfaces as well as her face and hands as she worked the batter.

She hadn't rolled up her sleeves as she'd began baking, and when one of them almost dipped into the batter, she made no move to pull it up. Shikamaru reached over to help her roll it up, but she swatted his arm away.

"Don't touch a woman's sleeve," she snapped. "The mess is what makes this fun.

As she spread the batter into various shaped trays, he watched as she frowned slightly in concentration.

"Aaaand... Done!" She pushed the trays into the oven and started clearing things into the sink.

"I get the spatula!" She suddenly exclaimed, snatching up the rubber baking spatula that still had some batter left on it.

Slightly shocked by the fact that Temari was sitting on the kitchen counter with gingerbread cooking in the oven and a spatula in her hand, Shikamaru just stared.

"What?" Temari asked after finishing the batter and leaving the utensil clean.

"What do you mean what?"

"Em... You look kinda out of it."

He shrugged.

"I just had a thrilling gingerbread baking experience."

"The fun is only beginning," she chuckled with a sly smile.

When the oven rang, Temari pulled on a pair of purple oven mitts and took the steaming trays out to cool down.

"Now we wait,"

The gingerbread was cooling down in the kitchen as Shikamaru and Temari sat at the dining room table and played another game of chess.

Temari still hadn't managed to win, but the games were lasting longer.

"Pretty good," Shikamaru observed.

"I know," the blonde said "I'm awesome,"

He moved his tower across three spaces and sat back with a self satisfied grin.

"Checkmate."

"Well shit. "

He chuckled and replaced the pieces back to their staring square.

"Again?"

"Nah, I'm good."

He shrugged and closed his eyes, resting his head on the kitchen table.

"Aw, sleepy head is taking a nap," he heard as a finger poked his cheek.

He grumbled and turned his face into his arms.

"Go away," he grumbled.

The poking stopped.

"Temari?" He asked after a while.

"Hn?"

"Do you ever miss your dad?"

"No." She said without a moment's hesitation. "I see him twice a year, that's more than enough."

He nodded and began falling asleep again.

"Why do you ask?" He heard.

"I don't know, I guess I was just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Nara."

"Curiosity has also enabled the human race to progress further on an evolutionary basis than cats ever will."

"That doesn't mean that every human wants their opinions dissected by others who haven't a clue about families other than their own."

He looked up and stared at her.

"I didn't mean to offend you-"

"I know, just don't mention shit like that again."

She stood up to leave when he reached over the table.

He'd intended to hold onto her arm so that he could apologise without her having her back to him, but the moment his fingers encircled her wrist to hold her in place, she yelped and pulled away from him, wincing.

With a glare, she stormed out of the dining room without another word.

Shikamaru stood silently in shock as he watched her leave, tugging her left sleeve over her arm.

He didn't miss the scar.

OooooooooO

She slammed the bedroom door behind her and locked it.

Pressing her forehead to the cold wood, she exhaled deeply and shivered.

She wasn't cold.

She made her way to the bathroom and looked down the sink, down the drain.

It was only six. Six scars.

She'd done worse and she was getting better. All she could do was pray that he hadn't seen.

If he had seen, she hoped that he would have the common sense not to bring it up.

Her reflection stared back at her, showing the tan skin which she'd gotten from her dad, and the wild texture of her hair as well, though it was thankfully blonde like her mother's.

While Gaara had it worse, he certainly wasn't the only one who had to deal with Rasa as a relative.

The scars on her wrists were those that she had control over.

Twice a year was more than enough.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Well shit, that just got deep o.O**_

 _ **I really want to get to reviews, but I honestly haven't even proofread this yet, so it's still rough I guess? I might re-edit this later.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading/ supporting this fic!**_

 _ **I almost gave up on it but then someone angrily PMd me like "RAARGH GIVE MEH MORE CHAPTERZZ!" So I was like loool sure ;)**_

 _ **Please Follow / Fave / Review!**_

 _ **~Lee ;)**_

!


	20. Chapter 20 Elastic Band

**This chapter dedication goes to: Master1941! Thanks for the fave!**

 **Elastic Band**

Shikamaru stayed frozen to the spot long after he heard Temari's door slam shut.

By the time the gingerbread had cooled down, she hadn't come back down, so he went to the kitchen to remove the biscuits from the baking parchment, making sure not to let any of them break.

He didn't know what to make of what he'd seen. He knew that making a big deal out of it would only cause problems, but he couldn't just ignore it either.

As he finished putting the biscuits on a plate, he paused to count the people-shaped ones, there were twenty in total, meaning three for everyone in the house and two left over.

He took the two spares and put them on a separate plate from the rest of them and stated at them for a moment before deciding on what to do.

OooooooooO

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts, making her realise that she'd been staring blankly at the definition for osmosis which was still stuck on her ceiling.

"I'm getting dressed," she lied, to get the person to leave.

She heard footsteps distance themselves from her and sighed in relief, she was too drained to talk to anyone about anything.

Twenty minutes later, another knock sounded.

"I'm busy," she called quickly.

"Doing what?" Came the Nara's voice, tinged with a slight bit of worry.

"Homework."

"Take a break for a minute, will you?"

"No, go away."

She stood up and crept to the door, pressing her ear against the wood to hear him leave.

"We're going to talk about this eventually, you may as well get this over with." Came the voice.

She sighed and sank to the floor, pressing her forehead against it.

"Okay. Go on, I'm listening."

OooooooooO

Shikamaru took a deep breath and set the tray down to the side.

"I won't ask why." He said. "I won't tell you to talk about it or to get help, but I will quite simply say that the approach that you're taking to handling your problems isn't the right one. There are hundreds of ways to deal with issues you're having, and you somehow managed to pick one of the only incorrect ones."

He heard nothing from the other side of the door and decided to press on.

"I don't know how long it's been going on for, or if you've done other... Things. I don't even know wether you did that to die or to feel alive, but I admit I'm worried."

He took the elastic band out of his hair and slipped out under her door.

"This is the best I can offer you right now. It still counts as self-harm if you use it, but it's less damaging to you. Put it on your wrist and if you get an urge to... Hurt yourself, just flick it against your arm."

He said nothing and pressed his forehead to the door.

"I'm more than just a little worried, Temari." He muttered after a moment of silence. "If you need to talk, I'll be here to listen."

She remained silent on the other side of the door.

"Can I come in?"

About twenty seconds later, the door handle turned and it opened a crack.

"Yes."

OooooooooO

The Nara picked up a tray from the ground before shuffling into her room and setting it down on her coffee table.

They wordlessly sat down on bean bags opposite each other as Shikamaru set a cup of hot chocolate down for both of them along with a biscuit.

"Thanks," she said eventually, doing her best not to sound upset or angry.

After setting everything down, Shikamaru propped his chin up in his hands and simply observed her, causing Temari to feel horribly uncomfortable.

"Are you going to say anything?" He asked eventually.

"I'm not sure. I haven't decided yet."

"I'll listen to anything. It doesn't have to be about why or how."

"Even the weather?' She asked sarcastically.

"Even the weather."

"I like the Sunan Climate. It's predictable. You know when it's going to be cold, when it's going to be hot. Sandstorms are a bit harder to guess at, but there are signs." She looked at him and sighed. "Life is the complete opposite. Sometimes, you think that something is going well and that things are looking up, but when you start to relax and smile a little, everything fucks up and you're left wondering how you could possibly have let your guard down."

She grimaced and shook her head. "That doesn't make much sense. I'm okay, you have no reason to be worried. I'm a little unstable, a little rough around the edges. My life isn't perfect, but I'm not trying to get rid of it either."

"So why the scars?"

"What happened to not asking why?" She bit back. "Look, things like this are personal. Sometimes, people just need a little wake up call to let them know that they're just as human as everyone else. I've been capable of getting through peoples' opinions of me, but sometimes the little things can just tear right through someone.

"This was just a reminder to myself that I bleed like the rest of them." She sighed, lifting up her arm, where her sleeve slipped down slightly.

"How long?" Shikamaru asked with a frown as he reached for his biscuit and dipped it into his hot chocolate.

"That depends." Temari shrugged, doing the same. "It started with... Something else. I stole a lighter from one of my teachers and just kinda... Let my fingers hover over it. It was too noticeable though, so I moved on from that-I was just a dumb thirteen year old."

She shrugged. "The way I see it, it's just a bad habit- like smoking. I'm trying to quit, but occasionally something just kinda triggers it, I guess. The exam stress just got to me, I got a few nightmares. It's fine though, I'll handle it."

He looked at her uncertainly and sighed.

"I don't know, Temari. The way I see it, talking to me about it isn't enough to deal with the problem."

"I'm dealing with it fine."

He raised an eyebrow and held out his hand. "Please let me see."

Temari hesitated before reaching forward and placing her wrist in his outstretched hand. Gently, he pulled up her sleeve, not looking away from her eyes as he did so.

"Does it bother you if I look?" He asked, nit lowering his gaze which she held back.

"A little."

His frown deepened slightly before she nodded slowly. "I trust you."

OooooooooO

Shikamaru braced himself before glancing down at her arm. The scars couldn't have been anymore than two days old, he could see at a glance that they weren't made using blades from pencil sharpeners, but something sharper and more sterile.

It made him uncomfortable to be looking at her arm, so he looked back up. Her expression was concerned, and he did his best not to grimace.

"When these heal," he gestured to her arm. "Please wear t-shirts. I won't sleep easy if you try to hide stuff. I think of you as a friend, and this... I still don't know what I think of it."

He sighed and let go of her arm, surprised that she hadn't yanked it out of his grasp, in fact, she simply let it linger for a brief moment before tugging her sleeve back down and resting it on the coffee table.

"You say you wanted to prove that you bleed like the rest of them," he murmured eventually. "But you're the only one who sees these, so you aren't proving anything. Besides - why would you want to be like 'them'? You're better than most, you should start believing it. Just... Try the elastic band, please?"

Temari gave him a forced warm smile and nodded. "Don't worr-"

"I will worry," Temari looked startled by his sudden interruption, but said nothing. "I'll worry because worrying isn't a choice, and I have been programmed to feel concerned when it comes to the well-being of those I care about. Worrying isn't a choice, but what you're doing is, and while I'm not blaming you entirely for what you've done, you still went ahead and did it."

Temari looked away from him, her face going red from embarrassment.

"Temari. Please just... Do your best, okay?"

Her slow nod made him feel guilty for making her uncomfortable. He leaned over the coffee table to put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know you can do it."

OooooooooO

Those words were enough to make her feel as though she could. If anyone else had said that to her, she'd have rolled her eyes, yelled at them and then laughed it off, but he was different.

He said things with such conviction that she knew he could probably convince himself the sign was made of tinsel.

"I hope you're right."

He didn't move move hand from her shoulder and she was glad for it. It was the closest thing to support she'd gotten in years.


	21. Chapter 21 Miss

**This chapter is dedicated to snowseokkie! Thank you for favouriting this story!**

 **Miss**

The results from their winter exams arrived shortly after Christmas day. Temari got excellent results in all her subjects (much to nobody's surprise). Although the exchange students didn't have to sit their exams due to differences in the school curricula, Temari couldn't help but feel as though Shikamaru would have somehow done better than her in most areas.

When school began once more, she realised how soon the Konoha group would be leaving. The Suna group would have a month's pause before going to their school, so she was glad that she'd be getting a pause from all the hustle of having extra people in the house.

That said, she knew that she was going to miss Shikamaru, and for some reason that made her... Well, it made her kind of angry.

He had been subtly stealing glances at her arms any time her sleeve hitched up, even a little, and she had to admit that it was slightly endearing.

On their first day back at school, she had dragged him to the piano room on the second floor and nagged him into playing a piece for her. (In her defence, it was him who brought up his ability to play the damn thing, claiming that his Mother was being a "complete drag" and had insisted he learn an instrument).

He reluctantly played a simple waltz and a piece entirely in staccato which made her laugh, for some strange reason.

There were only a few days left until their flight home, and even Temari had to admit that everything had gone fairly well. Until Ino got an idea.

At lunch, she gathered the group of twelve together and laid out her elaborate plan.

"We should get some kind of charm or accessory to make us seem like more of a group!" She'd said with a cute little cock of her head.

"No." Temari and Shikamaru said instantly. They looked at each other and she snorted as he snickered.

Daimaru shifted uncomfortably in his seat, fidgeting with something in his hands.

"Aw, c'mon!" Yukata pouted. "It's a great idea!"

Matsuri nodded eagerly and most of the others shrugged or mumbled in agreement.

"Okay fine. But nothing stupid!"

And so, after school, all of them headed out to one of the clothes stores.

"How about this?" Ino held up gloves, which were unanimously rejected, much to her dismay.

As were her keyrings, badges and belts.

"Hey, what about that scarf?" Temari asked, pointing to a thin black sheaf of material.

"That's not a scarf, dumbass. It's a bandana."

"Is it not a belt?"

Needless to say, the group settled on the ambiguous material, after much whinging on Ino's behalf, who claimed it was too boring.

"Okay, but what is it meant to be?" Kankurō asked.

"Whatever you want it to be," Ino shrugged, tying hers around her slim waist as Naruto fastened his across his forehead with a grin.

"Hey look, I'm a ninja!" No one comented and Gaara awkwardly put his on the strap of his bag.

Temari just tied hers around her neck, not bothered to reach up to her head, and unwilling to wear it in the same way as Ino.

"Where should I put mine?" Came a voice from behind her.

"On your arm," she said sarcastically.

When she looked behind her she found Shikamaru standing there and trying to attach the cloth to his upper arm. She chuckled and walked over to him.

"You're useless." She mumbled, low enough so that he was the only one to her it. He rolled his eyes as she reached up to help him tie it.

"It was a joke you know."

"Meh. It's fine on my arm. It won't get in the way at least. And I won't have to constantly refasten it."

"Lazy."

"What's new?"

She nudged him before turning back and walking towards Kankurō to help him fasten his own one across his forehead, clearly inspired by Naruto, who was now insisting he be called Rambo.

The night before the Konoha group were to leave, all twelve of them gathered at the Sabaku residence for a "feast" of sorts.

Needless to say, the idea was Ino's.

"How come you're on this exchange, actually?" Matsuri asked Shikamaru, sliding to sit next to him. Temari didn't hear his answer, but it did seem to amuse the other girl, who threw her head back with laughter.

"Why am I not surprised? I failed a few of my exams, plus I have a bad attendance record." Matsuri sighed. "I'm glad though, this was fun."

"Hey Matsuri?" Tenten called from the other side of the room. "I have a pet hamster, are you okay with gerbils?"

Matsuri squealed and nodded excitedly, making her way over to her pen pal.

Temari sighed and stretched back on the sofa, flinching slightly as her wrist brushed off Daimaru's sleeve. She hadn't realised he'd been sitting right next to her.

"Hey Dai," she said. It had been tense between them, but she was hoping they could ease out of that awkward stage.

"Hi." He said flatly.

She sighed and stood up to get a drink from the kitchen. Apparently the awkward stage was here to stay.

OooooooooO

"Hey, you all packed?"

Shikamaru froze at Tenten's words. He'd completely forgotten that he needed to pack. That said, he hadn't fully unpacked since he'd arrived, but he still had belongings scattered around the place. He shook his head and sighed.

"I'll do it tonight."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Lazy as ever."

He shrugged.

"Not like there's any point in wasting energy."

She nodded and gave him a smile before leaving to challenge Matsuri to a game of "beer pong" which contained San Pellegrino instead of beer.

He watched the group of people who were enjoying the party. Naruto and Gaara were seated at the coffee table and mumbling to each other about something, Tenten and Matsuri were playing an intense game of"San Pellegrino pong"and being cheered on by Kiba and Yukata. Ino was making out with Sai in the corner and Daima-

Wait. Ino was shifting Sai.

Ino. Was very passionately kissing the art club representative in a fairly crowded room.

He got over the shock and smiled as he tried to mentally calculate the likelihood of either of them pursuing what could be a very odd but charming relationship.

Low, but not unlikely.

Daimaru was cradling a cup of lemonade and Temari was nowhere to be seen. Shikamaru may not have been a social person, but he also never considered himself to be a wallflower either. He sat down beside Daimaru and gave him a casual smile.

"How did you get on with Sai?" He asked, leaning back into the sofa.

"Oh. Quite well, yeah."

Shikamaru nodded and waited for Daimaru to continue, which he didn't.

"Are you looking forward to visiting Konoha?"

"Sure."

He sighed and stood up. Temari's ex was making no effort at being social, so there was no point in trying.

He wandered to the kitchen to get a drink. He saw Temari seated at the kitchen table with a blank expression as she ate a candy cane.

"Hey," he said as he laid his eyes upon her. She said nothing and didn't even show any signs of registering that someone else had walked into the room.

He took a seat opposite her and watched as her eyes flickered and she recognised his presence.

"Oh. Hello." She said emotionlessly.

"You alright?" He asked, subconsciously glancing towards her sleeve.

She rolled her eyes and lifted her sleeve for him to see that the scars were almost fully healed and that no new ones had been made.

"You seem a little distant." He pressed on. "Are you that sad I'm leaving?" He added, teasingly.

"Hah. Sure." She snorted before going serious again. "I think Dai hates me." She took the candy cane out of her mouth and sighed.

"I've never felt this bad about a break up before. If he were angry, it would make everything a hell of a lot better."

"Don't worry about it. The wound is still fresh. Give it some time." Shikamaru suggested. "Maybe find someone else. That might help him move on."

Temari went a little red as he made the last suggestion.

"That's the thing, Nara. I have someone that I like, and that hasn't ever happened before. I can't just go off and date them, it doesn't work like that." She sighed deeply and shook her head. "I haven't exactly liked anyone before. Normally I'd just agree to date whatever girl or guy has the guts to ask me out, but this time it's different, because even if someone asks I know that I won't enjoy the relationship."

"Why don't you just ask them out?"

She glared at him.

"It's not that easy." She growled. Shikamaru tried to ignore the disappointing feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach.

He knew that Temari wouldn't be interested in him, but hearing her say that she liked someone out loud just made it worse.

"Sure it is. Just go up to them and say 'I like you'."

"Nara. Have you ever liked someone?"

"Er, o-once."

"Did you say that to them?"

"No." He admitted.

"I rest my case."

She popped the candy cane back into her mouth and shrugged.

"It will be fine. I'll get over it and so will Dai."

Clearly seeing that as the end to the conversation, Shikamaru went to get his drink before leaving the kitchen to pack. The next day was going to be a long one.

OooooooooO

"TEMARIIIIIIIII!"

"Ugh, Ino no sto-" Temari awkwardly tried to pull her limbs from Ino's tight grip. "Ino. Please-"

"Bye Ino!" Kankurō called, making Ino release her grip on Temari before waltzing over to him to do the same.

The group had met at the departures gate about an hour before the flights were due to take off. Ino had excitedly hugged everyone (Including those who were also leaving) and the rest of the group had all been a lot more tame in their goodbyes, exchanging brief hugs that didn't risk damaging one party's ribs.

"Bye guys!" Tenten smiled, waving happily to all of them and holding Matsuri in a swift embrace.

"Yeah, see you!" Kiba grinned, winking at anyone who made eye contact.

Naruto patted everyone on the shoulder and Shikamaru just said bye.

Sai simply smiled blankly at everyone.

Before the group went through to security, Temari took Shikamaru aside and tried her best not to seem too suspicious about it.

"Em. Stay safe, okay?" She said, not meeting his eyes.

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?"

She said nothing and let go of the sleeve which she'd subconsciously tugged on to pull him aside.

"Well if you're going to act that way..." She mumbled, making to turn away before she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her in.

They'd never hugged before.

"Don't do anything stupid, Temari."

She hesitantly brought her arms around him too, trying to hide the soft blush that she knew had appeared on her face. She didn't want to let go, but she knew that it would be awkward if she held on for too long.

She pulled away and gave him a small smile.

"Bye, Shikamaru."

After the Konoha group left, the Sunans waited for a while before heading off.

Temari walked, a little bit behind the rest, as they moved against the currents of all the people going on holidays or business trips. Against the tides of those who missed no one.

It had been three minutes, and Temari was already looking forward to the next time she'd be seeing Shikamaru.

* * *

 **A/N: AAAGGGHHH THIS TOOK SO LONG I'M SORRY!**

 **Okay, okay. I'm gonna edit this better later, but I've had a *lot* of people asking for an update, so HERE it is, I'll try to get the next chapter up at some point this month, cool? Okie, I will edit this later, I swear!**

 **Hope y'all enjoyed, please follow/fave and REVIEW!**

 **~Leeee**


	22. Chapter 22 Interlude

**This chapter is dedicated to Freddie123456: Thanks for the fave~!**

 **Please review!**

 **Interlude**

 _Nara._

 _I was asked to write this letter, it wasn't a choice. Baki said something along the lines of "keeping the correspondence going." So yeah, this is just a kind of default letter, just so that your ego doesn't get ahead of itself._

 _Bye._

 _-Temari._

 _Temari,_

 _funny, nobody else received a letter-do you miss me that much? plus you sent it directly to my address, rather than through the school._

 _my mother was elated to see that I got a letter from someone with feminine writing._

 _me? I don't have an ego, I'm just aware of my own excellence - don't feel bad, I would miss me too after a week of not seeing myself._

 _don't think about me too much,_

 _shikamaru. (not nara.)_

 _Dear NARA,_

 _As I have already said, I was asked to write it. I don't know if the others were also forced into wasting their time, but ANYWAYS._

 _What do you suggest I bring to Konoha? Also, how do your parents feel about selection boxes? I have to bring SOME kind of gift as thanks for them allowing me to stay at their house for three month's time._

 _Also, can you PLEASE use capital letters at the beginning of your sentences? It's annoying, are you seriously putting that much effort into making me hate you?_

 _-Temari_

 _Dear TROUBLE,_

 _Capital letters are a drag, but you're worse so I guess I'll escape your wrath. At least I always use a capital "I" (but that's because a capital I is in one part, and lower-case is in two.)_

 _What to bring? Eh, it's not exactly cold, but there will probably be a few rainy days during your stay, so be sure to bring a rain jacket and some warm clothes._

 _The usual, you know? Clothes, a novel or two._

 _I don't know if you want to bring your own soap or not: My demon-mother has stopped buying bottled soaps because they're bad for the environment, we only use bars of soap now. It's troublesome, but y'know, *save the dolphins*._

 _Other than that, I don't know, whatever you'd like I guess. I don't see you as a teddy bear kind of girl, but I don't want you having nightmares either._

 _Selection boxes? Sure, whatever. Nobody likes the strawberry flavoured chocolates though, or is that just my family?_

 _This letter has already taken up nearly a full page, and pulling another one out of my notebook would be a total drag, so I'm gonna leave it at that._

 _Bye,_

 _Shikamaru._

 _Shikamaru,_

 _Are you seriously too lazy to even seal your envelopes properly? The letter was practically out of the damn thing by the time it got to my mailbox._

 _In other news, we got a lovely talk from everyone's favourite Hidan today._

 _Guess what? He's coming WITH us to Konoha. Yay._

 _He started asking me about boyfriend problems again, it was fucking stupid, so I told him that the only boyfriend PROBLEM I had was that HE was talking to me about it._

 _I figured you'd appreciate_

 _Wait, gimme a second I need to answer the doorbell._

 _I'm back, it was just a delivery for Gaara._

 _Where was I?_

 _Oh yeah, I figured you'd appreciate the knowledge._

 _I think that what your mother is doing sounds lovely, but I will be taking my own soaps cos I have an affinity for certain aromas that Konoha mightn't have on offer._

 _I will ALSO be bringing a hell of a lot of candy canes, because they're discounted in stored to get rid of stock._

 _Screw Christmas - the January sales are the most magical time of year._

 _I need to go make dinner._

 _I'll be sure to SEAL THE DAMN ENVELOPE before I send this off._

 _See you soon,_

 _-Temari._

 _Temari,_

 _My mother has asked me to ask you wether you have any favourite meals, edible goods or just preferences in general when it comes to living conditions (Such as room temperature, bedding material and pillow stiffness.)_

 _You'll be here in just over a week, so it would probably for the best that you answer this quickly, so that we can make whatever preparations are necessary soon._

 _Ew, Hidan? Really? How troublesome..._

 _What kind of smells? I mean, we have more plants and greenery here so I wouldn't think that Suna beats Konoha in the Aromatic department, but if you insist..._

 _Ah, consumerism: The joys of it all. Have fun filling your suitcase with sugar, Madam Trouble._

 _I have to go, but please write back soon._

 _Love,_

 _Shikamaru_

 _Lazy-Ass, why the hell did you sign that letter off with "Love" ?_

 _Aww, you miss me that much~_

 _How cute ;)_

 _Jokes aside, don't do that. I'll assume it was a slip up, but that's just cringey, Mister Fondue-cheese._

 _I do have a favourite meal as a matter of fact-Kenchin Jiru. Other "edible goods"? I mean... Chestnuts I guess? As to living conditions, I'm not hugely picky._

 _I have an assignment due tomorrow, which is extremely "troublesome." This will probably be the last letter, since there won't be enough time for you to write back._

 _I'll be seeing you in five days time though, and your aching heart will be fixed by my blesséd presence. You're welcome._

 _See you then, Lazy Ass._

 _"Lurve,"_

 _Trouble ;)_


	23. Read me!

**[** ** _AN]_** _hey hi hello greetings etc, ChlorineObsession here ?_

 _I'm sorry for making an entire chapter dedicated to an authors note. I would only read this if you are genuinely interested in my fics because it's kinda long and probably boring *but* You might be interested by this so here we go!_

 _I have spent the past few weeks wondering whether or not to just delete the stories that I haven't completed yet along with possibly disabling my account. This isn't because of anything specific, I just haven't been feeling particularly capable of finishing a lot of the works I'd started, and I also have exams in June which are pretty much gonna decide whether or not I'm getting the scholarship I've been working towards for the past 3 years, so I suppose I've been rather busy._

 ** _However._**

 _Writing does bring me a lot of joy, and I've begun writing for a different fandom on a different site. I've made some incredible friends through this fandom and it made me realise how detached this community is, which is why I've decided that instead of just scrapping what I've got so far, I want to try improving it instead._

 _After my exams in June, I will begin working on remastered versions of all the fics I decide to continue with, as well as reaching out to people for support with these fics._

 ** _This is where you come in!_**

 _I'll be looking for some help and outside opinions regarding how I change my stories and perhaps start some new ones. This will be in the form of editors, beta readers and just anyone willing to listen to my rambling._

 _For this, I'm hoping to set up a discord server. For anyone who doesn't use discord, it's an app usually used for gamers as far as I'm aware, but it's just really handy for communicating/planning and forming a community._

 _If you're interested in giving a hand, meeting other people within the fandom and also getting support for your own fics, hit me up in the comments or in pms. If I get enough interest, I'll launch this initiative and we can help boost this (kinda withering) community._

 _I'll add in more details if I see it fit to do so!_

 _Let me know what you think,_

 _~Lee_


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